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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25758145">Don’t Take The Girl</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kervia/pseuds/Kervia'>Kervia</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Community (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Babies, Angst, Angst and Drama, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Annie Edison is a badass, Babies, Baby Fic, Domestic Violence, Drama, Drama &amp; Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Jeff Winger Has Issues, Lawyer, Long, M/M, Nurse - Freeform, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Pregnancy, Pregnant Sex, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Dancing, Slow Romance, Unplanned Pregnancy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:49:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>29,165</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25758145</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kervia/pseuds/Kervia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeff Winger is one of the most sought after defense lawyers in the Denver/Greendale, Colorado area. He's spent years cultivating his reputation as one of the most compassionate, understanding lawyers around, one who can get anyone a Not Guilty verdict, and who fights tooth and nail for his clients. Which is why he gets a call from one of his coworkers, early in the morning, when he has been arrested for domestic abuse and domestic rape. Jeff jumps into action, but when it's time for court Jeff is surprised at who the victim is.<br/>Annie Edison.<br/>The girl he met months before at his gym and hooked up with in the steam room after she told him about leaving her ex.<br/>Recusing himself due to his conflict of interest (he's never been able to forget her), Jeff's need to protect and take care of Annie-who just may be pregnant with his child-leads him to take her to his mother's home where they both befriend a group of misfits, and love slowly, oh so slowly begins to bloom.<br/>But Annie's ex hasn't forgotten what he sees as her betrayal, and when he has the chance he's coming for her, Jeff, and the rest of their family.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annie Edison &amp; Britta Perry, Annie Edison &amp; Jeff Winger, Annie Edison &amp; Pierce Hawthorne, Annie Edison/Jeff Winger, Annie Edison/Jeff Winger (eventually), Annie Edison/Original Male Character(s), Dean Craig Pelton &amp; Frankie Dart, Frankie Dart &amp; Annie Edison &amp; Abed Nadir, Ian Duncan/Britta Perry, Jeff Winger/Original Female Character(s), Shirley Bennett &amp; Annie Edison &amp; Abed Nadir &amp; Britta Perry &amp; Jeff Winger, Shirley Bennett/Detective Butcher, Troy Barnes &amp; Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>79</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Take Jimmy Johnson...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The title of this story comes from the song "Don't Take The Girl" by Tim McGraw. Some of the lyrics will appear in the story and some will be the chapter titles.</p><p>This story is a little more angsty than my others. Jeff and Annie don't really "get together" until later on--it's very slow burn.</p><p>Also, there are mentions of domestic abuse, domestic sexual assault (non-con), and domestic violence. This story has a lot of violence and trigger warnings for different parts of it. I'm trying to stay in character for everyone, but because of the parameters of the story, some of their normal characterizations and quirks might be a little heightened. Anyway, you'll see.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>Take Jimmy Johnson</b>
  </span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>Jeff</strong>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> There she was. </em>
</p><p>Jeff clenched his teeth to hold back the growl that threatened to escape his throat.</p><p>
  <em> The sexy ass brunette. </em>
</p><p>She didn’t come to the gym six days a week like he did, she came three, sometimes four days a week, and she never really did anything too strenuous. It was as if she’d hit her ideal weight and muscle strength and only wanted to maintain it. Jeff could understand that…</p><p>
  <em> In theory. </em>
</p><p>His workout routine was not only to build up strength and muscle mass, it was for health and vanity as well. Jeffrey Winger wanted to look as good on the outside as he could. He wanted to make sure that when he walked through a crowd, or into a room, that all eyes were on him, following him. Longing to be with him, or longing to be him. He didn’t just want their lust, he wanted their envy.</p><p>Because no one had wanted to be Jeffrey Winger when he was growing up.</p><p>With a mother who was the world’s greatest housewife, always cooking, always cleaning, Doreen Fitzgerald-Winger spent hours making sure that everything was perfect. And everyday when Jeffrey’s father, William Winger, got home from work, Doreen was waiting for him, dressed immaculately with an apron on, not a strand of her dirty blonde hair out of place, with a smile on her face. She would greet William, hand him a glass of Scotch, follow him to the den, take off his shoes and put them on the shoe rack, then she would go to the kitchen to make sure dinner was ready whenever he was.</p><p>For years Jeff thought his mother did these things because she loved his father. But when he was six, he noticed the slight tremble in his mother’s hands. The way her eyes widened and flicked from side to side as if seeking help or a savior. The way she could never seem to keep still once his father got home. And then one day he got back out of bed, way past his bedtime, and opened his bedroom door to find out what happened after he went to sleep.</p><p>That was the first time he saw his father beating his mother all across the floor of the den and into the kitchen. Slapping, punching, and sometimes even kicking her. His mother barely let out a sound of pain, just grunt and moans of hurt. Her greenish-blue eyes were filled with tears, and she didn’t even ask for William to stop. She simply... <em> accepted </em>it.</p><p>Jeff wasn’t sure how long he stood there, his eyes wide, his little body shaking with a feeling he’d never experienced before--it was a feeling he knew all too well now, it was <em> rage </em>. He’d yelled his father’s name. Not “Dad”, not “Father”, but…</p><p>“WILLIAM!”</p><p>His dad paused, one hand gripping Doreen’s shirt, the other raised in the air, curled into a fist. He was crouching over her, but at Jeffrey’s scream, he dropped Doreen, stood up straight and smirked--the classic Winger smirk--at his son.</p><p>“Ohh, look who’s awake, and trying to be a big boy.”</p><p>He stalked Jeffrey up the stairs, and though Jeff wanted to run, he couldn’t. Not when his eyes kept seeing his mother, blood all over her face, bruises starting to form, her beautiful hair disheveled, and her clothes ripped, on the floor. She was mouthing at him, telling him to run, shaking her head at him, but all Jeffrey could think of was…</p><p>
  <em> How many times has he beat her while I slept upstairs, unaware? </em>
</p><p>He thought about his mother’s makeup, the clothes she wore, the way her hair was always swept up in an updo, and realized that she did all of that to hide the violence, the abuse that she endured all the time. No doubt every day.</p><p>“You’re not gonna run, boy? Not gonna go cryin’ to your Mommy?” William sneered. His mocking tone, and the liquor that Jeff could smell leaking from his pores, made him square his shoulders even more.</p><p>“No.” It was all he could say, though his mind was flooded with admonishments and warnings that he screamed at his father, telling him to leave his mother alone.</p><p>William blinked at him in surprise for a minute, then reached out to grab the front of Jeff’s shirt.</p><p>“Say it again, you little shit,” he snarled.</p><p>Jeff swallowed down his fear, glanced at his mother, saw that she’d managed to pull herself halfway up the stairs and directed his attention back to his father. He leaned forward.</p><p>“I said <em> no </em>, asshole,” he stated firmly.</p><p>His father growled and tossed him against the hall. Jeff hit the wall and then fell face first onto the floor. He could hear his mother screaming, begging his father to leave him alone. But Jeff couldn’t focus, his head was ringing, his entire body hurt. It was nothing compared to when his father flipped him over and began to rain punches on his face and body. Jeff tried to fight back, but he was just a kid. He was scrawny.</p><p>He was nothing.</p><p>He blacked out, and when he opened his eyes later, he was in the hospital, his mother sobbing uncontrollably over his little body. She’d told him that William had left them once he heard the sirens. Just grabbed some clothes and took off out of the garage in his car. She’d promised him that William wouldn’t be back. But Jeff hadn’t believed her. He <em> couldn’t </em> believe her. Not when it came to his father. Obviously. She’d endured all of his abuse for years and hadn’t left. So he’d gotten it in his head that as soon as he could, he’d start working out so he could be big enough, strong enough, to not only kick his dad’s ass, but to kill the sonofabitch if he had to.</p><p>Jeff jerked his mind out of the past and onto the present, focusing his attention on the gorgeous brunette who had made her way to one of the bikes. And though Jeff had done leg-day just yesterday, he shrugged and went to take the bike next to her.</p><p>He didn’t immediately look at her. Though he catalogued a lot about her from the corner of his eye.</p><p>
  <em> Petite. Probably 5’3 or 5’4, just based on her legs and torso. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Chestnut hair. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Thin nose. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Full lips. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Amazing body. Toned legs. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Flat belly. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Nice, big, full breasts. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Pale skin, but not too pale. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Big, blue eyes. Sort of looks like she belongs in a Disney movie. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> And… </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Is that a caduceus? </em>
</p><p>“Have you looked your fill, or would you rather I stand up in front of you so you can really get a good look?” A soft, lilting, musical voice asked, and when Jeff turned his head to the left, he found his gaze trapped by the amused one of the very woman he’d been <em> trying </em> to discreetly ogle.</p><p>He coughed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his neck.</p><p>“I feel like I should apologize to you for objectifying you the way I just did, but… I’m afraid I can’t,” he said with a shrug.</p><p>She blinked. “I’m sorry? You can’t apologize to me? Why not?”</p><p>Jeff smiled at her. It was a tilt of one side of his lips, not a smirk, but a sexy, bashful, appraising type of smile, and he let his eyes drift over her without artifice. He shook his head as he realized she was so much more beautiful when he was looking at her directly. Dangerously beautiful.</p><p>“You’re much too beautiful, too gorgeous, not to be stared at. Watched. Appreciated. I tried to do it from the corner of my eye so as to not make you uncomfortable, but you’re like a piece of art, crafted by the gods to make mere mortals stop. Take a moment. And just that them for making <em> beauty </em> such as you, possible,” he said, quirking an eyebrow.</p><p>He waited for her to either sigh with a swoon, and just fall into his palms, begging for him to seduce her, or for her to snort with disgust and never speak to him again. It was always a gamble speaking to a woman who was beautiful, but who had a bit of mystery surrounding her. So Jeff waited. And waited. Not speaking. As she let her own eyes travel the length of his body in his workout clothes. Finally she laughed, and held out a hand.</p><p>“Annie Edison.”</p><p>Jeff smiled at her genuinely and took her hand with his own. “Nice to meet you Annie, my name is Jeff Winger.”</p><p>Annie retrieved her hand and turned to sit properly on her bike, putting her <em> AirPods </em> in.</p><p>“Well, Jeff Winger. Your pickup lines could use some work. But I just dumped my ex and I’m feeling a bit… generous. So, if you can keep up with me on the cycles? I may just let you tell me some more.”</p><p>Jeff lifted his eyebrows for a moment, a little caught off guard by her challenge, but he quickly got adjusted on the bike, and squared his own shoulders. He’d never had a woman want to compete with him, just so he could have a <em> chance </em> to hit on her. Especially when she was newly single. Those were usually his prime targets. But there was something about this… Annie Edison, that made her completely different from every other woman he’d ever met in his life.</p><p>“Challenge accepted.”</p><p> </p><p>* * * *</p><p> </p><p>An hour and a half later, and Jeff was pretty sure his legs were going to collapse beneath him.</p><p>
  <em> How the hell was she able to just cycle like that without falling apart? </em>
</p><p>“Good job, Jeff,” Annie grinned at him. “I really thought you were going to tap out at one point.”</p><p>Jeff scoffed and swallowed back the wince that tried to make itself known.</p><p>“Are you kidding me? I do harder workouts than this on a daily basis,” he stated.</p><p>Annie nodded and trailed her gaze up and down his body. “Yeah. I know.”</p><p>Jeff’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but before he could ask her about it, she stepped closer to him.</p><p>“I reserved the steam room for right now. Want to come with me? Let the heat soothe your aching bones? Let the heat make you sweat, but make you feel good too?” She suggested seductively.</p><p>
  <em> Yes, please. </em>
</p><p>But, he needed to be cool. Especially in front of this gorgeous woman, who was young, but not too young for him. He was sure he still had ten or maybe even fifteen years on her, but she was at least in her twenties and for him, that made her old enough. So he merely nodded and shrugged one shoulder at the same time.</p><p>“Sure. Lead the way.”</p><p>Jeff found himself walking behind Annie, his eyes fixed on her ass, which was round and looked… delicious. And she… wait… was she <em> bouncing </em> while she walked? Who did that?!</p><p><em> Disney princesses </em>.</p><p>He almost turned around and told her no thank you, but when she glanced over her shoulder at him, just outside of the women’s locker room, the heat he saw in her blue eyes, made him feel as if he were on fire. Jeff swallowed back his groan, and lowered his hands to cover his thickened shaft. When Annie’s eyes lowered to his groin, and she smiled, Jeff knew he could either make a fool of himself and kiss her right there outside the locker rooms, or he could wait until they were in the steam room and do a lot more.</p><p>
  <em> Patience. It’s always so much better when they’re panting for it. </em>
</p><p>So giving her a nod and a smirk, Jeff headed for the door of the men’s locker room.</p><p>“Milady.”</p><p>Annie giggled. “Milord.”</p><p> </p><p>* * * *</p><p> </p><p>No less than fifteen minutes later, and Jeff was stretched out on one of the benches in the steam room when Annie stepped inside. While the steam was thick, it wasn’t so thick that he couldn’t see the moment she dropped her towel and…</p><p>
  <em> Holy. Fucking. Shit. She’s naked! </em>
</p><p><em> Fuck. Her body is amazing </em>.</p><p>He sat up and removed his towel as well, watching her with bated breath as she walked towards him in the steam, like some sort of sexy goddess in a Greek tragedy.</p><p>“Jeff?” She called out and he couldn’t speak, his tongue wouldn’t work, so he simply reached out and ran his hands over her arms and up to her shoulders. He smiled when she shivered.</p><p>He helped her step up onto the bench below him, spread his legs, and pulled her to step in between them.</p><p>Without another word spoken between them, he tugged her head towards his own, and took her lips in a fiercely passionate kiss. He swallowed her kiss, and with his hands guiding her movements, helped her to straddle his hips.</p><p><em> Mmm… I knew she would be amazing </em>.</p><p>And after that the only thing he could think was…</p><p>
  <em> Annie. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Annie. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Annie. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Annie. </em>
</p><p>And when they left the gym, over two hours later, they didn’t exchange numbers, or any more information. But they’d both been deeply affected.</p><p>So it was with great surprise that Jeff found himself facing Annie on the witness stand, months later, as he fought to defend his coworker, Kenneth Archer, from the charges of rape, kidnapping, and domestic violence.</p><p>A very <em> pregnant </em> Annie.</p><p>“That’s your ex,” he murmured to Kenneth.</p><p>Kenneth, “Kenny”, nodded. “Yeah. She looks all sweet and innocent, and her being a nurse kind of helps that image, but trust me man, she’s a <em> bitch </em>. Like, she went out a week or so after we broke up, slept with some guy, and got pregnant.”</p><p>Jeff’s heart thundered in his chest, his palms grew damp, and there was a buzzing in his head. “Is that why you beat her?” He asked softly through gritted teeth.</p><p>Kenneth scoffed and leaned close to Jeff’s ear. “No. I did what I did, because she <em> deserved it </em> . No one leaves me, Jeff. <em> No. One. </em> I’d rather see her dead, than to see her with anyone else.”</p><p>Jeff swallowed, then stood to his feet. He buttoned his jacket, and looked over at Annie sitting on the witness stand, her eyes showing her own surprise to see him, and his mother’s face flashed in his mind’s eyes. His father’s words, his curses, his snarls played on a loop in his head. Then there was Annie.</p><p>
  <em> Her smile. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Her wit. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Her passion. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Her drive. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Her body. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Her eyes. </em>
</p><p>“Your Honor, I’m afraid I must recuse myself from this case…”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Little Girl, Came Through The Front Gate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>How Annie met Kenny.<br/>How Annie met Jeff.<br/>How Annie met other Annie and Frankie.<br/>And the trial gets violent.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>T/W: This chapter has descriptions of domestic abuse, violence against women, violence, and mentions of stalking, rape, and attempted murder. Please take this under consideration before reading further.</p><p>Also, this chapter is veeerrrryyy long. But I couldn't figure out where to cut it off, so you get all of it in one.</p><p>Also, this chapter is a bit of a tearjerker.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>Little Girl, Came Through The Front Gate</b>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Annie Edison was a good girl.</p><p>Or at least she’d always thought she was. She’d grown up in a home where being “bad” was going to bed without reading the next three chapters in every textbook, and doing the practice tests, in order to be ahead and prepared in class.</p><p>Of course, that kind of stress from her parents would probably explain why she got stress headaches and didn’t even notice them anymore.</p><p>And why she’d had her first one at the age of 4.</p><p>But while some other people might have cracked under the pressure of being raised by Deborah and Robert Edison, Annie had thrived. And when it appeared that her parents would not give her any siblings to play with--or to compete with in a healthy way-Annie had taken it upon herself to make the characters in her books, her friends and siblings. And the moment she helped an elderly woman at the nursing home her bubbe lived in, by giving her CPR--because she’s Annie Edison, and <em> of course </em>, she took CPR classes--she’d known that her future was in medicine.</p><p>But Annie’s need to be perfect, to excel, to do all that she could in order to make her parents proud--the same parents who were never satisfied with anything that she did--drove her to start taking Adderall in order to accomplish more, push harder, and excel more than anyone else.</p><p>One pill a day led to two pills a day, which led to three, and eventually, Annie was popping Adderall as if they were tic-tacs.</p><p>And eventually, she wound up in rehab, after running through a glass door at her senior class party, screaming about robots taking over the world. No one knew her in rehab, and for that, Annie was thankful. No one was pushing her to do better. No one was not so subtly asking her why she wasn’t doing <em> more </em>. The only thing expected of her was to participate and to get better. And by doing that she was given encouragement. She was cared for.</p><p>There were no conditions. No stern and unloving faces staring down at her. No whispered words of judgement and condemnation.</p><p>It was perfect.</p><p>But it didn’t last. Good things like that never did in her life.</p><p>But after she’d attended community college at Greendale--not really the best place to get an education in the Denver, Colorado area,, but it was a school that accepted her, no questions asked. Just like rehab. She’d met a really cool bunch of people: Leonard, Vicki, Garrett, Neil, Quendra. But just like her “friends” from rehab, once it was all over, she never really heard from them again.</p><p>But again, Annie knew how to survive, how to thrive in the worst of circumstances. She’d spent most of her life alone, trying to please two beings who were basically the specters of what was at one time her parents. So she’d obtained her nursing degree, walked across the quad of Greendale Community College, with only a few people applauding for her. When the ceremony was over, she’d waved to her former classmates, climbed in her 2014 Honda Civic which was packed with all of her things, a moving trailer attached which had all of her furniture, and had driven to Denver. Once she got there, she met up with her new landlord, Buzz Hickey, and his two sons, and one son-in-law, and thanked them profusely as they helped her move her things into her new apartment.</p><p>She’d started her new job as an RN, at Denver Hospital under the direction of the Head Nurse, a young, Asian woman named Annie Kim-Cho, who was married to one of the surgeons on staff David Cho. When Annie Edison first met Annie Kim-Cho, her old competitive spirit--the one that had pushed her to take Adderall so that she was the best at her high school in all things academic, rose up, desperately wanting to beat the other woman, who was slightly younger than her, for the position of Head Nurse.</p><p><em> Recognize the trigger, acknowledge it, then back away from it. </em> Her sponsor’s voice sounded in her head, and Annie sighed, mentally acknowledged that being around someone who was in a position she felt she would be in, if it weren’t for her life detour due to rehab and Greendale Community College, and smiled at Annie Kim-Cho. The two of them became fast friends, always in each other’s presence, known around Denver Hospital as “The Annies.”</p><p>So when Annie Kim-Cho and her husband, David, introduced Annie Edison to their friend, Kenneth Archer, a lawyer at Hamish, Hamish, Hamlin, &amp; Winger, she’d trusted that her friend, Annie, knew what she was doing. That the other woman would never try to hook her up with someone who was bad for her. And for a while, it was true. Kenny was charming. Handsome. Intelligent. He protected her. He was a gentleman. He encouraged her and supported her. He complimented her. He was always there for her.</p><p>Slowly, but surely, Kenny began to change. It wasn’t all at once. It was gradual and subtle. So subtle that Annie was hard-pressed to pinpoint when exactly everything shifted. People who thought that there was always a moment when a domestic violence victim would be able to tell that their partner was abusive, had themselves never been in an abusive relationship. Annie, who had assisted counselors at the hospital with domestic violence victims, support groups, had certainly never expected to find herself slowly being isolated from her friends, and she hadn’t been to see her bubbe in the nursing home for over six months the day Kenny hit her the first time.</p><p>It had been, for her, completely unexpected. Her days, her nights, her entire life had been narrowed down to going to work, and taking care of Kenny, giving him whatever he wanted, whether she wanted to or not. She had done all she could to ensure that her man was happy and satisfied. But, it was coming up on her time of the month, and as usually happened, Annie began to drag, feeling extra tired. So when her nap ran a little long on that Saturday, it had thrown her off schedule. She had rushed like crazy to get everything done before Kenny got home from work, not knowing that he’d gotten off early that day. So she was just starting dinner when he walked in through the front door, an entire hour early.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Annie froze. Had that been the closing of the front door that she’d just heard? But that wasn’t possible, Kenny wasn’t due home for another hour.</p><p>“Annie, hun, where are you? An-nie,” Kenny’s words grew hard and stilted as he stepped into the kitchen.</p><p>Annie spun around completely, still holding the uncooked chicken she’d been rubbing spices into, as she faced Kenny. Her stomach dropped as she noticed the angry flush on his face, his eyebrows pulled low. He stalked towards her in a menacing manner, his jaw clenched, and fists clenching at his sides.</p><p>“Annie. Why the <em> fuck </em> are you still working on dinner?” He asked between gritted teeth.</p><p>Annie’s entire body trembled with fear as she swallowed the lump of emotion that had risen up to choke her.</p><p>“I-I ov-overslept,” she stuttered.</p><p>Kenny laughed mockingly. “You… <em> overslept </em> .” He shook his head. “She overslept. She fucking <em> overslept! </em>” Kenny shouted, tilting his head back as he stared at the ceiling. It was as if he were explaining things to HaShem, or at least that was the way it appeared to Annie. Which was something that should have brought her a measure of peace, being as she still practiced her Jewish faith--or as much as Kenny allowed her--but it only served to sit at the bottom of her stomach like a lead ball.</p><p>She’d been turning to put down the chicken when Kenny’s fist flew at her temple.</p><p>The chicken went flying and Annie crumpled to the floor with a cry of pain and dismay. She was barely conscious when Kenny pulled her up by her hair and wrapped his hands around her neck.</p><p>“I don’t ask for much,” he growled at her. “I do so much for you and you can’t even have fucking dinner ready for me? Are you out of your fucking mind, Annie? Don’t make me do this to you again.”</p><p>If he said anything else after that? Annie didn’t hear him, because she passed out. When she opened her eyes hours later, Kenny was sitting on the side of the bed next to her, ministering to her, as if the person who had assaulted her was someone else. He was silently crying, and for a moment Annie felt guilt slice through her. Felt as if she should apologize to him.</p><p>“I’m sorry you made me do that, Annie. I promise I will never hit you again. Just as long as you do everything exactly right,” Kenny told her, as he climbed into bed with her, turning her on her side and cuddling her tightly.</p><p>Annie’s eyes widened, her heart began to pound, and her breath grew short.</p><p>
  <em> What the hell had she gotten herself into? </em>
</p><p>
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</p><hr/><p>
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</p><p>Three months later, Annie stood inside the new, but empty, new apartment she’d just leased. She stood with her arms folded across her chest as she watched the movers, a golden-haired, muscled guy, named Rick--whose brother called him “Subway” because of his obsession with the restaurant, and his brother, Devin, move her stuff into the small one-bedroom dwelling. She looked around her, once again taking in the security measures that the unit had.</p><p>
  <em> Bars on the windows? Check. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Security alarm system? Check. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Cameras in the hallway, at the front, and back door? Check. </em>
</p><p>She felt safer there than she did at her own job, which had gotten a restraining order against Kenny on Annie’s behalf, making it so that, unless he was in an urgent, medical situation--as determined by the paramedics on the scene--he could not come within 500 feet of the hospital while Annie was on duty, or even in the building. And one of the doctors, Rich, had taken to walking Annie to her car at the end of all her shifts. And yet, it wasn’t until she finally moved out of the condo she rented with Kenny that she finally felt safe again.</p><p>After the first time he hit her, it took Annie a month before she finally left him. She’d just wanted someone to love her. Someone to want to be with <em> her </em>. Not only that, there was a part of her that had felt as if it were her fault. It had to be, right? Why else would it seem as though everyone in her life either wanted nothing to do with her, left her, pushed her to change, or abused her because she was a failure?</p><p>But no matter what she did, Kenny just kept hitting her. Punching her. One time he’d even kicked her. That was when Annie had known it was time to leave. Lying on the floor in their bedroom, nose bleeding, bruises covering her torso, her ribs bruised, Annie knew that if she didn’t leave then, Kenny would end up killing her.</p><p>And she wanted to get out before she ended up pregnant with his child and had a harder time getting away.</p><p>So one day when he’d gone to work, Annie had gone to the police and reported his abuse. She’d then gone to work, talked to David Cho and Annie Kim-Cho, been treated, and they’d helped her pack. She’d stored her things in a storage unit, and slept on their couch for a few weeks, while her restraining order against Kenny was put into effect. Once that happened, she found her own apartment, one with security, and moved.</p><p>“That’s everything, Miss Edison. Is there anything else we can do for you?” Rick asked, his eyes moving over her appreciatively. Annie struggled not to shudder at his leer, she’d been having a hard time having any man flirt with her lately, and thanked them, before seeing them out.</p><p>She breathed a sigh of relief once she was alone, and for the first time since the last time Kenny had hit her…</p><p>Annie sank down onto the floor and sobbed.</p><p>
  <br/>
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</p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
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</p><p>“Have you looked your fill, or would you rather I stand up in front of you so you can really get a good look?” She asked the tall, attractive man, she’d caught checking her out in the gym, with a small smile.</p><p>He coughed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his neck.</p><p>“I feel like I should apologize to you for objectifying you the way I just did, but… I’m afraid I can’t,” he said with a shrug.</p><p>She blinked. “I’m sorry? You can’t apologize to me? Why not?”</p><p>He smiled at her. It was a tilt of one side of his lips, not a smirk, but a sexy, bashful, appraising type of smile, and ran his gaze up and down her body again, appreciatively. He shook his head again, and Annie barely suppressed a giggle.</p><p>“You’re much too beautiful, too gorgeous, not to be stared at. Watched. Appreciated. I tried to do it from the corner of my eye so as to not make you uncomfortable, but you’re like a piece of art, crafted by the gods to make mere mortals stop. Take a moment. And just that them for making beauty such as you, possible,” he said, quirking an eyebrow.</p><p>Annie knew that was her cue to either giggle like a dimwit, to tell him off like a feminist, or to walk away like an independent woman. Instead she let her own eyes travel the length of his body in his workout clothes. </p><p>
  <em> Nice. Very, very nice. </em>
</p><p>When the shiver of fear she’d been dealing with when it came to men never came, she tilted her head and tried to figure out what was so different about this <em> one </em>man. It was as if she could see that while he was, in fact, a womanizer, he also had a soft, heart of gold, that he tried hard to keep hidden.</p><p>
  <em> I feel safe with him. </em>
</p><p>So she laughed, and held out a hand. “Annie Edison.”</p><p>The attractive man smiled at her genuinely and took her hand with his own. “Nice to meet you Annie, my name is Jeff Winger.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
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</p><p>Eight weeks later, Annie waved at the doorman of her apartment building. He wasn’t the guy who was usually posted there, but, though it made her feel slightly guilty, she hadn’t taken much notice of the doorman to be able to distinguish him in a lineup, except to know that he was an older white man with grey hair. The man at the door that day was younger, with black hair, a goatee. Classically handsome. Annie might have smiled at him shyly and in a flirting manner, if she hadn’t just returned from the doctor’s office, where she’d learned that she was eight weeks pregnant.</p><p>Which was why she didn’t notice the doorman pulling out his phone, and calling someone.</p><p>She was so distracted that she also didn’t notice that there was no one at the front desk. She headed straight for the elevator bank, stepped inside the open doors, and pressed the button for the second floor.</p><p>When she got off on her floor, Annie headed towards her apartment. Head down, fingers searching for her keys in the bottom of her purse.</p><p>
  <em> I need to go and get my prescription for prenatal pills filled. And the one for the anti-nausea pills. I need to start buying diapers, and baby furniture. Start up a baby registry. Let the hospital administrator know. Tell Annie Kim-Cho and David. Start looking into preschools and nannies. Maybe the hospital has a nursery I can leave the baby in while I work. I’m going to need to go grocery shopping, I have a lot of food that isn’t good for a pregnancy, and not a lot that is needed to help my baby grow up to be strong and intelligent. </em>
</p><p>At this thought, Annie paused outside of her apartment door.</p><p>
  <em> Oh my gosh. I’m pregnant. I guess I need to find that Jeff guy and let him know. </em>
</p><p>Shaking off the hesitation and fear that arose as she even considered that conversation or the effort that it would take to do such a thing, and placed her key into the keyhole of her front door. She stepped inside, and pushed the door shut behind her, without looking back to see if it had. It was such a mundane, repetitive action, that she’d stepped into her bedroom, and had slipped her black, ballet flats off her feet, before she realized that she hadn’t heard the door actually close. She frowned, and stepped out of the room, gasping when she noticed Kenny standing in her living room. Watching her. His usual green eyes so dark they were almost menacing, as he stared at her with rage.</p><p>“Annie. Annie. Annie.” He shook his head. “Do you know how <em> long </em> I have been looking for you?”</p><p>Annie trembled as she stared at him, before turning her head towards her front door. The sound of a power drill and hammer reached her ears and she widened her eyes in shock.</p><p>“Oh yeah. There won’t be any escaping that way, my sweet little Jewish princess.” Kenny chuckled. “My friend, B.R.? He’s out there changing the locks on your door, and breaking the handle. Effectively locking the both of us inside.”</p><p>Annie backed away, shaking her head as Kenny stalked towards her.</p><p>“H-how?” She stammered out, as she slid a hand into the pocket of her scrub bottoms, and found her phone. She needed help. And she needed it right then. “Only residents and those who have been approved by residents can get in.”</p><p>Kenny chuckled as he wagged his head from side to side. He stepped into the bedroom with her, and closed it behind him. Annie jumped slightly at the sound of the lock engaging, the <em> click </em> reverberating loudly in the room. She could hear it over the pounding of her heart, and her own harsh breathing.</p><p>“LIttle Annie Edison. Still so naive,” Kenny said. “Firstly, B.R.? He lives right across the hall from you as of yesterday. Secondly? He was the doorman you passed less than fifteen minutes ago.”</p><p>Annie gasped, shaking her head and swallowing the bile in her throat as Kenny mocked her gasp. He laughed again, then reached out to grab her scrub top.</p><p>“I told you. The day we said <em> I love you </em> to each other, that you were <em> mine </em> and I would never allow anyone to have you.” He growled and lifted her off her feet by the fabric of her top. Annie’s fingers finally pressed something which caused her phone to vibrate and begin ringing in her pocket, and she could only pray that she’d pressed the “Emergency” button, and not the speed dial button for the pizza place down the street.</p><p>“I told you that if I can’t have you, no one will. So it’s up to you now, Annie. You and I are going to stay locked up in this apartment until you either realize that we belong together, or until I have to kill you, then myself. Either way…” He pulled her close to him. “We’re leaving here together.”</p><p>And with those words he stopped talking.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>For an indeterminate amount of time, Annie was punched in the face, her fingers broken, repeatedly raped, her hair pulled, spit on, and choked until she was about to pass out. When the sound of sirens reached her ears, she wanted to sob in relief, but she’d cried so much already, she wasn’t sure that she had any tears left in her. Her arms and thighs had borne the brunt of Kenny’s kicks, as she curled into a fetal position to protect the child within her.</p><p>She heard the police rush up to the door of her apartment. Heard as they took “B.R.” hostage, and she looked over at the bathroom door, where Kenny had just gone to take a piss. Knowing that he would check under the bed when he came out, Annie pulled the sheets and covers onto the floor, climbed off it, and crept over to the closet. She slid the doors closed behind her, wincing as the salt from her tears--<em> oh wow, I can still cry </em>--seeped into the cuts and bruises on her face. She sat in the corner of the closet and curled up into a ball.</p><p>When Kenny had begun his assault on her body, he’d ripped her scrubs bottoms from her body and threw them towards the other side of the room. Annie was so happy to know that her phone hadn’t been destroyed, and that she’d either been able to make contact with 9-1-1, or someone she had called had gotten in touch with the police.</p><p>
  <em> If it’s that pizza place, I’m going to eat there every, single, night for the rest of my life. </em>
</p><p>She heard Kenny open the bathroom door, and come to a stop on the other side.</p><p>“Annie! I don’t know why you keep hiding from me, you stupid little bitch. I know you’re here, and now I’m just going to be even more upset when I find you,” Kenny growled. “Annie! Get your a--”</p><p>His words were cut off by the sound of something ramming into the front door.</p><p>“What the fuck is B.R. doing? This stupid shithead,” he snarled, and Annie heard the bedroom door open, seconds before the front door splintered and the most beautiful sound she’d heard up until that point exploded into her ears.</p><p>“POLICE! Kenneth Archer! Put your hands up and get down on the ground! Do it! Now!”</p><p>Annie cried harshly into her hands that she held over her face as she heard the various cocking of guns, then the thud as Kenny was pushed down on the ground. She heard the handcuffs snapped onto his wrists, and only then did she start to breathe slightly easier.</p><p>“Where is Miss Edison?” One of the officers yelled.</p><p>“How the fuck should I know?” Kenny responded. “I came over to visit her, and I couldn’t find her, and some lunatic locked us inside so I don’t actually know where she is. I was too busy trying to find a way to get out.” Kenny lied, and Annie shook her head, screaming that he was lying, running out of the closet, grabbing an officer’s gun, and shooting Kenny point blank in the face.</p><p>She screamed and pressed further into the corner, when the closet doors were opened and she saw a policeman standing there, her hands lifted in an attempt to appear non-threatening to Annie. She slowly replaced her gun in its holster then gestured for Annie to come to her.</p><p>Annie sniffled, pushed herself up off the floor, then threw herself into the officer’s embrace. She cried hysterically as the other woman grabbed a long, Burberry walking coat from the closet and helped Annie put it on over her naked body. Then, wrapping her arm around Annie’s shoulders she led her out to where the other cops were still trying to get Kenny to let them know where she was.</p><p>“Guys. I found Miss Edison hiding in the closet,” the female officer said.</p><p>Annie knew she looked as bad as she felt, when the other cops turned to look at her, and their eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in anger as they turned back to Kenny.</p><p>“Mr. Kenneth Archer, you are under arrest for the kidnapping, assault, battery, sexual assault, and violation of the restraining order in regards to one, Miss Annie Edison. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say, can, and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just told you?” One of the officers, a tall, very broad-shouldered black man asked Kenny, and Annie could hear the rage in the cop’s voice as he escorted a struggling Kenny out of the door.</p><p>Annie breathed a sigh of relief, and looked up at the woman.</p><p>“Officer Dart?” Annie asked, her voice rough and husky from all the crying and screaming she’d done.</p><p>“Please, call me Frankie, Miss Edison,” Frankie Dart said with a gentle smile.</p><p>“Annie,” she said, touching her chest, and wincing at the burn she’d received right below her collarbone from Kenny when he’d tried to brand her with his cigarette. “Umm… Officer Frankie? Can you please help me get to the hospital? I need to make sure that monster didn’t make me lose my baby.”</p><p>Frankie frowned. “Of course, Annie. But, may I ask… why would you still have that man’s baby?”</p><p>For Annie, the room felt as if it were starting to spin, and she swayed, but she wanted to make sure she answered.</p><p>“Not. His. Babyyyy.”</p><p>And then there was only darkness.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
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</p><p>Her baby was okay. But her body… and her mind was not.</p><p>Her body just needed time to heal, but her mind…</p><p>Annie wasn’t sure she would ever be okay again.</p><p>She was thankful for Frankie and Annie Kim-Cho. Both women had taken her to physical therapy, to her psychologist, to her OBGYN appointments, and the day the trial started for Kenny, they’d both helped her dress in a blue shirtdress, and were there in the courtroom when she was called to testify.</p><p>The moment she saw Jeff Winger, the father of her unborn child, for the first time since they’d slept together.</p><p>“Your Honor, the people call Annie Edison to the stand.”</p><p>Annie stepped through the open doors and walked up to the witness stand, her heart pounding in her chest, refusing to look anywhere but the witness stand. She stepped up and took her place in front of the witness chair, and raised her right hand after placing her left on top of the Bible.</p><p>“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” The bailiff asked.</p><p>Annie nodded, then took a seat. Which was when she noticed Jeff Winger, standing at the <em> defense </em>table, his eyes wide, his jaw hanging open in shock. Annie felt her own surprise surging through her.</p><p>Jeff stood to his feet, buttoned his jacket, and looked over at Annie.</p><p>“Your Honor, I’m afraid I must recuse myself from this case due to a previous intimate relationship with the plaintiff,” Jeff intoned.</p><p>Annie’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, amazed that Jeff would admit to such a thing.</p><p>“I see. And Mr. Winger, do you believe that this relationship would prevent you from providing your client with effective counsel?” The judge questioned.</p><p>Annie couldn’t stop staring at Jeff. Unsure about how she felt, seeing him there, the former lawyer for her douchebag ex. The man she’d been searching for in order to let him know she was pregnant, was less than fifty feet away.</p><p>“I understand.” The judge nods. “Mr. Archer, do you understand what’s taking place?”</p><p>Annie looked over at Kenny and found his intense gaze moving back and forth between her and Jeff. Feeling the small flutter of her unborn child within her, no doubt reacting to her fear, Annie placed her hands on her belly, then cast a glance at Jeff who was watching her. She could see the confusion and the question in his eyes, and she gave him a slight nod. When Jeff stumbled, she grew concerned and stood quickly.</p><p>But not quick enough.</p><p>Kenny yelled and launched himself across the table towards her.</p><p>“You bitch! I should have killed you when I had the chance! How dare you get pregnant from this asshole! I’m going to finish what I started!”</p><p>Annie gasped and pressed herself towards the back of the witness stand, watching as the guards grabbed Kenny, and took him down, but not before Jeff swung a fist at him, connecting with his jaw. Then Jeff ran to her, and took her in his arms.</p><p>“Oh my god, Annie. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I had no idea. And you’re pregnant? And it’s mine?” His words ran together and he trembled.</p><p>Annie was shivering herself and she nodded. “I couldn’t find you.” Then she started to sob, and she couldn’t stop.</p><p>Not when the judge ordered the courtroom to clear.</p><p>Not when the prosecutor came back into the courtroom with the judge to let her know that Kevin’s outburst was considered a confession and he’d receive 15 to 30 years, eligible for parole in 7.</p><p>Not when Frankie and Annie Kim-Cho came to collect her.</p><p>Not when Jeff got her number and address and promised to come see her the next day, then helped to escort her out of the courthouse.</p><p>She didn’t stop crying until Frankie and Annie Kim-Cho had gotten her inside of her new apartment. The second one she’d moved into since leaving Kenny. The other one had too many nightmarish memories for her. She fell asleep with both women sitting in chairs in her bedroom, talking about how “cute” (Annie Kim-Cho) and “acceptably attractive” (Frankie) Jeff was. And though she was no longer crying, there was a feeling of fear--as if her nightmare wasn’t over, but had merely faded for a moment, only to return even darker and worse than before later on when she was <em> really </em>happy--which had settled like a weight in the pit of her stomach.</p><p>
  <em> Oh god… I can’t stay here. I have to get out. But where? </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>You're getting three, yes THREE, chapters today.<br/>Coming up is Kenny, then Jeff's POV. You'll be able to tell when it's Kenny because his will be the only chapters in 1st person and in bold italics.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Take Anybody You Want, As Long As She Don’t Go</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kenny speaks...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Kenny talks here. Be forewarned, dude is evil.<br/>One more chapter coming today.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your comments and encouragement!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>Take Anybody You Want, As Long As She Don’t Go</b>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>That little lying, manipulative, skank!</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>How dare she sleep with another man!</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Didn’t she believe me when I said no other man would ever have her? That if she wasn’t with me, she wouldn’t be with anyone? I wasn’t joking. Annie Edison belonged to me. Now and forever.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>I moved away from the bars of my cell, knowing that my being there was only temporary. I had friends in high places. Friends who agreed with me about a woman’s place, and a man’s right to own her. To dominate her. To kill her if she tried to get away.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Those same friends had helped me with Madison King, and Rebecca Landry. Two of my women who would never be seen again. And even when my brother had started to get too close, they’d made sure that he was never heard from again.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>It was because of him that I’d known about Annie before we even met the first time. I’d been very careful. I hadn’t approached her directly. I had, instead found out who her friends were, and became friends with them. I made sure they wanted to play matchmaker and got us together. Then I made sure she fell for me.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
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    <em>Annie Edison had been mine since the end of her freshman year at Greendale.</em>
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<p>
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    <em>“Guard!” I yelled out.</em>
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</p>
<p>
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    <em>“Shut up, inmate!” He called back.</em>
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<p>
  <b>
    <em>“I just want to send my brother a letter. Can you get me an envelope, some paper, and a pencil? Please?” I asked him as he stepped in front of the bars.</em>
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</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>He stared at me intently, no doubt trying to figure out if I was going to try something. But he didn’t know me. I’d spent decades making sure no one could see the dark sludge that flowed through my veins, and the black hole where my heart should have been. And after a moment, it paid off. He nodded; left, and returned with the items I’d asked for.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>As he walked away, I headed over to my bunk, ignoring the other inmate I’d choked until he passed out, making it seem as if we were hugging when I did so. I sat down and started writing.</em>
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</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Hey Vaughn,</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Remember that girl, Annie? From Greendale? Well, I need your help with something. And if you do this, maybe I’ll tell you what happened to mom and dad….</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yeah... Vaughn and Annie was apparently a big set-up.<br/>We're coming up on Jeff's POV next, and there won't be too many more flashbacks. We're moving forward because we've got to get the group back together!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Same Old Boy, Same Sweet Girl</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jeff goes to visit Annie, and saves the day.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is the 3rd chapter I've uploaded today. I hope you all enjoy it! And thank you so much for your kind words and for reading the story. This chapter leads into the slow build, happy times, friends to lovers stuff. And Soon-To-Be-A-Father Jeff Winger is going to be awesome.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> <b>Same Old Boy, Same Sweet Girl</b> </span>
</p><p>
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</p><p>Jeff pulled up in front of Annie’s apartment complex and exhaled deeply, in an attempt to calm his racing heart.</p><p><em>You can do this. You’re Jeffrey Tobias Fucking Winger.</em> <em>You’re not afraid of anything. Especially not some stunningly gorgeous petite sex goddess, or some baby you created with her that’s not even fully formed or born yet.</em></p><p>After that pep talk--which sounded suspiciously like his mother’s voice--Jeff climbed out of his brand new black Lexus, grabbed the bags from his backseat that held his purchases from the store Motherhood Maternity, and headed towards the lobby of the complex. It wasn’t until he got closer that he noticed the cluster of cars and people. He slowed down, trying to discern what was happening, it wasn’t until he was noticed by one of the people in the crowd that he realized what was going on.</p><p>“It’s the lawyer!”</p><p>
  <em> Fuck. Paparazzi. </em>
</p><p>Jeff realized that if they were down in front of the doors of the lobby they were waiting for Annie to emerge. He thought of the celebrities that had been run off the road by nosey, heartless paparazzi chasing them for a photo. Then he remembered not only what Annie had been through, but that she was expecting his kid.</p><p><em> His fucking baby </em>.</p><p>He growled and shoved his way through the cameramen and the tabloid writers, until he got just inside the lobby. He walked up to the front desk and gave them his name. Once they had checked with Annie, he’d been buzzed through the third set of doors. He headed over to the elevator and up to the third floor. He kept his eyes open for Annie’s apartment, and sighed when he came upon it.</p><p>
  <em> Apartment 303. </em>
</p><p>He knocked and waited for Annie to come to the door. He let his eyes rove over the empty hallway and turned back to the apartment when the door finally opened. He took in the sight of Annie standing in front of him. Her blue eyes bloodshot, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her breath caught on his name, “Je-eff,” and he moved without thought, stepping forward quickly, he dropped the bag to the floor, lifted Annie up into his arms, bridal style, and after kicking the door closed behind him, he headed straight for the couch. He sat down, Annie on his lap, and held her tightly to him as she cried.</p><p>And if he pressed her just a little bit closer, and sniffed her hair, while he rested his right hand on the side of her belly?</p><p>Well, who could blame him?</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Long moments later, after Annie’s tears had dried and she’d gone to wash her face, Jeff sat next to her on her couch. Neither of them spoke, just simply sat in silence. Jeff tried to figure out what to say, how to make things easier on her, but he was coming up short.</p><p>“I was planning on telling you,” Annie finally said.</p><p>Jeff looked over at her, and found her big, blue eyes trained on his face. He nodded.</p><p>“When?” He asked.</p><p>“I was actually planning on telling you the day that… the day that…” She swallowed. “You know.”</p><p>Jeff nodded again, rage boiling within him once again. “I’m really sorry that happened to you, Annie.”</p><p>She waved off his words and sighed. “It’s not your fault, Jeff. I knew that Kenny had a temper. I’d left him because of it. So I should have expected him to do something <em> volatile </em> when I ran out on him. Especially when I got a restraining order against him.” She sat back against the couch cushions and started to twirl her hair around her fingers.</p><p>Jeff watched her for a minute intrigued. <em> She looks so young, and so beautiful. </em></p><p>“It wasn’t your fault, Annie. This is all on him. He’s the monster that…” He swallowed thickly. “Kidnapped you. Assaulted you. <em> Violated </em> you.”</p><p>Annie reached out and touched Jeff’s forearm. “You don’t need to say it, Jeff. I was there. And don’t think about it. I’m trying really hard not to.”</p><p>She looked towards the window.</p><p>“Though there are those who won’t let me,” she muttered.</p><p>Jeff followed her gaze and narrowed his eyes. “How long have they been out there?” He asked her.</p><p>Annie turned back to him and gave him a sad smile. “Since a few hours after I got home from the courthouse. The front desk let me know they were out there. Yelling my name. Harassing my neighbors.” She shook her head. “They didn’t come right out and evict me, or tell me that I needed to leave, but I could tell they were implying it. Or suggesting it. But they needn’t have worried. I know I need to leave. I have to get out of here. Go somewhere where no one knows who I am, or if they do, they don’t care.</p><p>“I can’t go to either of my parents. They cut me off when I went to rehab. I don’t have any real friends. I mean there’s Frankie and Annie Kim-Cho, but neither of them can deal with all of the hassle that the paparazzi would bring. Nor would I want them to. Plus Frankie lives with her brother, and Annie Kim-Cho has her husband and their kids.”</p><p>Jeff nodded in understanding. Annie was right. She couldn’t stay in her apartment, and while the complex couldn’t kick her out because she was essentially being harassed, they could evict her for being a nuisance and putting the other tenants in danger.</p><p>He could offer his place. He had two bedrooms and he was barely home. And they were having a baby together, but, he lived in a condo right in the center of downtown Denver. Annie wouldn’t exactly be safe there. And then it hit him, and he spoke without taking a moment to stop and think.</p><p>“I think I have a place you could go. It’s at the very edge of Denver, practically in Lakewood. You would be living with an older woman who will dote on you. Care for you. Make sure you’re eating. Help you get ready for the baby--<em> our </em> baby. And you’ll be safe. She’s gone through a lot of what you have. She’s a domestic violence survivor too. She has a pretty big house. Two stories. You’d probably only see her when you wanted to. But she’d be there when you needed her.”</p><p>Annie frowned in confusion, but Jeff saw the hope in her eyes. “Where is this amazing place, Jeff? Who is this wonderful woman?”</p><p>“My mother. I’ll call her and see if she’ll let you stay with her.”</p><p>Annie blinked at him in surprise, and she bounced slightly as she gripped his hands. “Do you think she’ll let me? Tell her I will cook and clean if she wants me to. I’ll do her taxes. I’ll--”</p><p>Jeff chuckled and leaned forward to place a finger on Annie’s lips to get her to stop talking.</p><p>“Annie, she won’t want all of that. My mother, Ms. Doreen Fitzgerald-Winger, has a big heart. Besides…” He placed his palm on her stomach fully and felt his stomach flip with excitement and slight nervousness. “You are having her first, and maybe only, grandchild.”</p><p>Annie’s eyes filled with tears, and when she threw herself into his arms, Jeff knew he would do everything he could to give her the world. He’d even go and visit his mother more often. Annie and their baby were the most important people next to his mother, in the world to him.</p><p>
  <em> I wonder what Mom is going to make me promise her to do this favor for me. </em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>As it were, all he’d had to promise his mother was that he would pack Annie up as soon as possible and bring her and his mother’s “grandbaby” to her home as quickly as he could. So Jeff had asked Ted for some interns from the firm, and brought them to Annie’s apartment. Annie still hadn’t left the building, trapped inside as the paparazzi swarmed outside like locusts. She’d sat in the overstuffed, purple polka dot, rocking chair, that Jeff had found the day before and had delivered not only for her to sit in as they moved her things out. Most of her furniture was going into a storage he’d gotten for her, and prepaid for a year in advance driven by two interns, and the rest of her things would go into a small moving truck, which would be driven by the other two interns, while Jeff followed them, with Annie in the passenger seat, to his mother’s home.</p><p>“Jeff, thank you! So much,” Annie said, a wide grin on her face, as she bounced on her toes, the two interns: David and Steven, having taken the final piece, Annie’s rocking chair, to the moving truck, which would be going to his mother’s house.</p><p>Jeff grinned and gestured Annie towards the door, and away from the now empty and clean apartment. “I keep telling you to stop thanking me, Annie. I wanted to do this. I am responsible for taking care of you and our baby. I know you could, but I <em> need </em> to do this. I couldn’t help my mom, but, I can help you,” Jeff said, his voice cracking at the end.</p><p>“Oh, Jeff,” Annie took his hand and squeezed it.</p><p>He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. C’mon let’s go. And by the way…” He turned to her and pointed directly at her face, trying not to grin. “Don’t touch the radio.”</p><p>And though he’d growled at her the moment she did it the first time, eventually Jeff found himself singing along to a Toni Braxton song, Annie’s voice joining his in a lovely harmony.</p><p>They pulled up in front of his mother’s home two hours later, and Jeff chuckled when he saw the older woman, whose blonde hair was now liberally streaked with greys, standing on her front porch, bouncing from foot to foot.</p><p>“She can’t wait to get you inside and start spoiling you,” he told Annie. He looked over at her, noticing that her hands were trembling. He reached out to take her hands with his. He waited until she lifted her gaze from her lap to meet his own. “Hey, don’t worry about it. She’s going to love you. I promise. And if she tries to make you eat brussel sprouts? Just call me.”</p><p>Annie giggled and rolled her eyes, before she reached out to open the door. Just before she climbed out of the car, she glanced at him. “Thanks again.”</p><p>Jeff simply nodded and followed her from the vehicle. He walked a few feet behind her, giving her and his mother a chance to meet without him hovering over them.</p><p>“Oh, Annie! I heard everything. You poor thing. Come in, come in. I’ll show you to your rooms. I have one for you and one where we can set up the nursery. Then we’ll go to the kitchen and we’ll talk, but most importantly, I’ll feed you. We have to make sure my grandbaby is getting enough nourishment, and I don’t care what anyone else says, but a good slice of homemade lasagna makes everything better.”</p><p>She wrapped her arm around Annie’s shoulders and led her inside, throwing a glance back at Jeff as she did so.</p><p>“Don’t just stand around looking pretty, Jeffrey Tobias. Go help those nice boys unload the truck,” she directed him, then shook her head when he opened his mouth. “And none of this, I don’t want to break a sweat, nonsense. You will do it, because this is the mother of your child. Do you understand?”</p><p>“Yes, Mom,” Jeff agreed, then turned to go help the interns unload the truck, but not before returning Annie’s smile, with one of his own.</p><p>His chest filling with a warm sensation he’d never experienced before.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Take My Wallet</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Annie meets her new neighbors, and Jeff has an interesting connection with one of them...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Because of the oral surgery I have to have on Monday, you're getting 3 chapters today!</p><p>Thank you all for the comments and kudos.</p><p>Also, because of the oral surgery on Monday, the chapters are not as angsty or sad. Expect to laugh! Though there will still be some feels.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>Take My Wallet</b>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>When Annie woke up that morning, she noticed three things almost immediately.</p><p>
  <em> One. I’m pregnant. Still. That wasn’t a dream. </em>
</p><p><em> Two. I’m not in my apartment. Wait. Where am I? </em> Memories of the past few days rose to her mind and then she remembered. <em> Ms Doreen Fitzgerald. Jeff’s mother. My baby’s grandmother. </em></p><p>
  <em> Three. Someone was cooking. And it smelled fantastic. </em>
</p><p>Her stomach growled one minute, then nausea sent her leaping from the bed and racing out into the hallway. She placed a hand up to her mouth as she tried desperately to remember where Doreen had told her the bathroom was. She doubled over as the morning sickness fought valiantly to escape her body. She was propelled by large, firm hands on her body, one on her hip, the other on her shoulder, towards a door that was slightly ajar. When she was escorted through, she saw the toilet and rushed towards it.</p><p>As she gave into her body’s need to vomit, she felt those same hands pulling her hair back from her face. She wanted to send the person--she was pretty sure it was Jeff--away, but she was too busy throwing up her internal organs to say or do anything. She could hear Doreen’s voice, and Jeff’s deep baritone responding. It felt like hours had passed but was probably only minutes, when finally the nausea receded and after flushing the toilet, Annie sat back, sighing as she was pulled back to rest against Jeff’s chest. He placed a cool washrag on her forehead, and another against the back of her neck.</p><p>“There’s a small cup of mouthwash on the sink for you,” he said softly.</p><p>Annie looked over and noticed the small paper cup. She leaned up to grab it, and tilted it back. She swished it around in her mouth, and gargled with it, then spit it out in the toilet. Once her mouth felt refreshed and clean, she finally focused on her surroundings.</p><p>She was in the hallway bathroom. The walls were painted a light yellow, with a white trim, white cabinets, a tub/shower combination, a toilet, yellow wastebasket, with a white framed photograph of Jeff and his mother. She looked over her shoulder at Jeff, and giggled at his appearance.</p><p>“What?” He asked with a slight smile on his face, his lips surrounded by a layer of scruff, his hair disheveled, and a few creases on the side of his face.</p><p>She shook her head. “Nothing, you’re just… kind of adorable in the morning. You know, when you have natural bedhead, instead of the manufactured stuff.”</p><p>She watched as he self-consciously lifted his hand and ran his fingers through the strands. Annie frowned.</p><p>“Aww, now you’ve messed it up,” she told him with a faux-pout.</p><p>Jeff snorted and dropped his hands, until one was resting on his left knee, and the other lay loosely on Annie’s thigh. He lifted that hand and hesitated a few inches from her rounded belly. Annie looked down, then took his fingers and pressed his hand against her baby bump.</p><p>“Is this okay?” Jeff asked softly.</p><p>Annie nodded. “Yeah, of course it is, Jeff.” She looked over her shoulder at him. “I mean, I get to feel our baby inside of me all day, this is the only way you’ll be able to, until they’re born.”</p><p>Neither of them spoke for a long time, no doubt thinking of the reality of their situation, before Doreen’s voice came from the doorway.</p><p>“While this is a very beautiful image--and I’ve already taken at least five pictures to frame and share on the Facebook--Annie, you need to eat, and then Jeff, you need to help her start to unpack so you can get back to work,” she said. “You’ve got a family to support now, so you’re going to have to cut down on your hair creams, and face washes.”</p><p>Jeff let out a noise that sounded as if it were a mix of a scoff, an embarrassed squeak, and a whimper. Annie covered her mouth to prevent her giggle from escaping but when Jeff nudged her, she couldn’t hold it back any longer. She laughed in delight, feeling true, genuine amusement and happiness, for the first time in a long time. When her amusement finally dissipated, she opened her eyes, and saw Jeff squatting next to her, his eyes soft as he watched her.</p><p>Annie tilted her head to the side and quirked her lips up in a half smile. “What?”</p><p>Jeff shook his head. “Nothing. Come on. Let’s get some food in you.”</p><p>Annie nodded and took Jeff’s hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet. She smiled up at him, trying to ignore the tingle that worked its way through her body at the touch of his fingers.</p><p><em> Probably just the baby </em>.</p><p>She followed Jeff down the stairs, tugging down on the bottom of her large t-shirt, and tugging up on the waistband of her pajama bottoms. Ever since she’d gotten pregnant and her belly had grown a “bump”, Annie had become increasingly uncomfortable. She knew, from talking to some of the expectant mothers at the hospital, that things were only going to get worse, but she was looking forward to what was on the other side… her very own baby. Someone who would really, and truly love her.</p><p>“There you two are! Finally,” Doreen said with a smug smile, as if she hadn’t <em> just </em> left them in the upstairs bathroom. She tsked when she looked at Annie. “Oh honey. Look at you. Still beautiful, but I can see the effect of carrying a Winger baby all over you.”</p><p>“Mom!” Jeff gasped.</p><p>Doreen waved off Jeff’s shock. “Oh, honey. You were my own special and precious little baby boy, but that was <em> after </em> I’d given birth to you. Carrying you for nine and a half months? I mean, you were a baby who barely liked to move, and then when it was time for you to be born? I was in labor with you for 36 hours, because you didn’t want to come out.”</p><p>Annie giggled. “So what you’re saying is he was a lazy baby?”</p><p>Jeff quirked an eyebrow at Annie’s teasing and she shrugged.</p><p>“The laziest,” Doreen agreed, then laughed.</p><p>Annie took a seat at the dining table, and inhaled deeply of the delicious and bountiful spread that rested there. Doreen had obviously been up for some time cooking. There were scrambled egg whites, a fresh fruit salad, three different kinds of toast, eggs over medium, boiled eggs, pork bacon, turkey bacon, pancakes, waffles, bagels, croissants, pastries, sausages, cinnamon bread, French toast, orange juice, apple juice, water, coffee, and hash browns.</p><p>“Wow, Mom. I meant, I know Annie is eating for two, but don’t you think this is a little much?” Jeff asked, his words causing Annie to blush as she unconsciously rubbed her baby bump.</p><p>“Oh, this isn’t just for us. I told you before that I often invite those nice young men across the street to have breakfast with me. And whenever the Duncans don’t have patients in the morning they also come over. And sometimes I have over a few other neighbors as well,” Doreen replied distractedly, as she brought over a platter of sliced fruits and cheeses.</p><p>“Mom, don’t you think it’s just a little too much for Annie to be meeting so many new people all at once?” Jeff asked with a persuasive tone, jerking his head in Annie’s direction.</p><p>Finding herself the focus of everyone in the room, Annie shook her head and lifted a hand. “Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she said, with a tight smile.</p><p>Doreen nodded, just as there was a knock on the door. She clapped her hands together and headed off to open the door. Jeff rose up from his seat, and came to take the chair right next to Annie. He leaned over to talk softly to her.</p><p>“I’ve really only met one of the Duncans. Ian. He’s a former client of mine. Got him cleared of a DUI charge.” He sighed and shook his head. “Never met his wife. She’s got some weird name, Britannica or something? According to my mom, they’re both psychologists, so be careful talking to them.”</p><p>Annie nodded. She’d already been assigned to a therapist at the hospital that she was supposed to start meeting with the next week. But that was a Dr. Perry. And Annie was already regretting having to do that. She had absolutely <em> no </em> desire to rehash what was no doubt the worst experience of her life.</p><p>She leaned closer to Jeff, their heads almost touching as they whispered conspiratorially. “Any intel on the <em> two young men </em> she mentioned?”</p><p>Jeff snorted. “None. But I think they’re gay, just in case you were thinking of… you know.”</p><p>Annie rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Yeah right. First of all, I’m <em> never </em> getting involved with another man or person, ever again. Second, even if I were, what sick, twisted guy would want to get involved with a woman who was already pregnant by another guy?”</p><p>Jeff shrugged his shoulders, as if he didn’t see what the big deal was, and Annie gasped, shoving his shoulder slightly.</p><p>She continued. “Besides, I have no intention of doing anything romantically or sexually with anyone until after our baby is born. And Fourth, refer back to number one.”</p><p>“And it was then that Jeffrey realized that he needed to only be friends with this beautiful woman, and that through that, they would eventually find their way back to each other,” a voice said from the doorway, and Annie glanced up, along with Jeff.</p><p>Standing on either side of Doreen, just inside of the dining room, were two young men, around Annie’s age. One was an attractive African-American guy, with short, black hair, and a clean-shaven face, broad shoulders, trim waist, he looked like the cross between an athlete and an actor. The other man was Middle-Eastern, with a long face, his eyes observing everything but reflecting back no emotion. His black hair was gelled lightly and brushed back away from his face. He was tall and trim, and looked at them as if they were characters in a television show. Or bugs pinned to a cork board.</p><p>“Umm… what?” Jeff asked.</p><p>“Oh!” Doreen smiled brightly. “Jeffrey, Annie, this is Troy and Abed,” she introduced them, gesturing first at the young, black man, then at the slightly older Pakistani--maybe?--man. Annie observed the both of them carefully, hoping that they couldn’t tell she was using her few classes in genetics to determine any medical issues or cultural markers for health problems. It was something she did with everyone--Jeff would have an issue with cholesterol, unless he was taking pills to manage it, since his obsession with his looks, and what he ate led to a surge of it.</p><p>“Nice to meet you,” Annie said with a small wave and a smile.</p><p>“Yeah, you too,” Troy replied with a nod. “Are those jelly donuts?” He headed straight for the table, and grabbed one from the platter in the middle.</p><p>Jeff jerked his head at Abed. “How did you know who I was?” He asked.</p><p>Abed pointed at the pictures on the wall of Doreen and Jeff, some just of Jeff, and various other photos that decorated Jeff’s mother’s home. Jeff nodded and Annie joined him. It made sense. From her conversation with Doreen the previous day, she was extremely proud of Jeff, and told everyone she met about her son, “the brilliant lawyer.”</p><p><em> “He had to go back to college, for another two years, because he hadn’t </em> actually <em> gotten his bachelor’s degree. He got his Associate’s and got a friend to make him a fake degree so he could go to law school. He did brilliantly there. Passed his LSATs with the highest score in the whole of Colorado, but he was just so… lazy when it came to undergraduate school, that he just decided to skip it.” Doreen had shaken her head then, and Annie stood shocked next to the older woman, as they both looked at the three photos of Jeff in cap and gown. Each of them a different color. </em></p><p>
  <em> “How did he get caught?” She asked, her mind racing with questions. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “One of the guys at his firm. Someone who thought they were rivals for the position of partner.” Doreen scoffed. “Thing is, they simply held Jeffrey’s spot, so once he got his Bachelor’s he slipped right back into place, made partner, and now that guy is basically Jeff’s bitch.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Annie gasped. “Ms Fitzgerald!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Doreen laughed and waved off Annie’s shock. “I keep telling you to call me, Doreen, dear. Besides, it’s true. Jeffrey says the same thing.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Annie couldn’t stop the giggle from rising up, so she cleared her throat. “How did you feel when you found out?” </em>
</p><p><em> Doreen frowned and shook her head. “I felt like I’d failed him, actually.” She sighed deeply. “When you’re a parent, you know, a </em> good <em> parent, you would do anything to make sure your child is happy. Take extra jobs. Sacrifice your own happiness. Put up with watching </em> G.I. Joe <em> everyday, all day, especially during the summer.” </em></p><p><em> Annie frowned. What in the world was </em> G.I. Joe <em> ? </em></p><p><em> “But when you’re broken, mentally and emotionally, the way I was?” Doreen continued. “Long before I ever even </em> met <em> William Winger, it’s hard to separate your </em> need <em> for companionship, to not be alone, with the desire to be a good parent. You put up with pain, hurt, abuse, things that other people would never even consider, all while battling your inherent need to protect your child. I felt like I </em> deserved <em> everything that William put me through. It wasn’t until I noticed what happened to Jeffrey, realized what my own son was enduring, that I finally put an end to everything.” </em></p><p><em> Annie nodded. “My parents never really wanted me,” she confessed. “They used to tell me that my appearance was simply unplanned, but that they’d </em> made the best of it <em> . However, growing up they were never satisfied with anything that I did. They pushed and pushed me, always making snide remarks about how disappointed they were in me.” She sighed, and twirled the ends of her hair around a finger. “It led me to have an addiction with Adderall. Then into rehab. Then finally to Greendale Community College to get my nursing degree.” </em></p><p>
  <em> “Oh!” Doreen gasped, her hands pressed over her chest, her eyes wide. “Jeffrey went there as well!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Annie blinked at the other woman in surprise. “Whoa. What a coincidence.” </em>
</p><p>“Your mother has told us all about you being a bigshot lawyer,” Troy said, pointing at Jeff with a slice of bacon. “You, however,” he then pointed at Annie. “Are a mystery.”</p><p>Annie looked around and noticed that she was once again, the center of attention. It made her uncomfortable, and she shifted in her chair. The feel of Jeff’s hand, taking one of her own, and squeezing it slightly, settled her and brought a measure of comfort.</p><p>
  <em> Hmmm… interesting. </em>
</p><p>“My name is Annie Edison. I’m a nurse. I just moved in yesterday and um…” She glanced over at Jeff and shrugged.</p><p>“And she and I are having a baby together,” he provided in a no-nonsense tone, sounding a bit bored.</p><p>“Hmm…” Abed tilted his head to the side as he observed them. “This must be a fairly new development, as Doreen has never mentioned the impending birth of a grandchild.”</p><p>Jeff huffed and rolled his eyes, pulling his cellphone from his pocket with his right hand, and typing on it. Though he never released Annie’s hand from his left. “What does it matter if she never mentioned it? Maybe she just realized that it was something private that she didn’t need to share with two people who <em> aren’t family </em>.”</p><p>Annie watched as Troy and Abed shared a laugh before they both shook their heads, simultaneously, in the same direction, at the same speed. <em> Left-right-left-right. </em></p><p>“No. That’s not it,” they stated in sync.</p><p>“Jeffrey. Must you be so rude?” Doreen asked.</p><p>Jeff shrugged in response. “Someone has to fill that role. I’m already the most gorgeous. Most fit. Most successful. I might as well be the most rude.”</p><p>Annie snorted. “I would think that I was the most gorgeous, if anyone had that role,” she teased.</p><p>Jeff turned to look at her. “Aww, Annie. You’re so cute, and yet, so naive,” he said, shaking his head.</p><p>“Oh, whatever, Jeff.” Annie nudged him with her shoulder, a soft smile on her face as she did so.</p><p>Abed pointed at the sky, then at them, before he pulled it back and lowered his hand, nodding. “I see. This is a friends to lovers trope. You are expecting a baby together, no doubt a result of a one-night stand, or a brief affair. And now, circumstances have brought you back together. Annie living with Doreen, and Jeff taking on the role of protector. You’ll get to know each other, fall for each other, and live happily ever after. Much like Katherine Heigl’s most successful… well, <em> only </em> successful film since leaving <em> Grey’s Anatomy, </em> the movie <em> Knocked Up </em>.” He sighed and headed over to the table. “I was hoping for a bit more action. Maybe some science fiction, and a lot less romance, since that trope seems to pander to the audience’s expectation, tugging on their feels, often ignoring the rules for a cohesive plot and actors with true chemistry, but this?” He shrugged. “I think it will work. You’re both attractive by Hollywood’s standards, and I can see the chemistry between the both of you.”</p><p>Annie’s jaw dropped and she turned to slowly stare at Jeff, who looked back at her with confusion.</p><p>Doreen chuckled nervously and fluttered her hands. “Oh, that’s just Abed being Abed!” There was another knock on the door, and Doreen clapped her hands and headed for the front door.</p><p>“That’ll be the Duncans! I hope they brought the boys! There are four of them, so be ready!” She called back, seconds before the front door opened…</p><p>And chaos raced through the house.</p><p>Annie jumped with a slight scream when two young boys headed straight for the table, grabbing food and shoving it into their mouths. The other two boys walked calmly to the table with a sigh, and sat down, their hands folded in their laps. Following them was a thin, bespectacled man, wearing a tweed suit, he looked tired, as he walked up behind his sons, and gripped the two who had fallen on the table like they were starving, and grabbing their collars, he pushed them down into two empty chairs.</p><p>“For god’s sakes. Can’t you two act as if you have any bloody sense whatsoever? Must you always behave as if you only have the blood of uncouth Americans flowing through your veins? You <em> are </em> half-British. Show some decorum!” With that he walked to the other side of the table and fell down into his empty chair.</p><p>“Don’t talk to Susan and Django that way, Ian! They are well within their rights to show their appreciation for food, and to express their spirit and freedom exuberantly.” A blonde woman, with high cheekbones, wearing a pair of black framed glasses, wearing a leather jacket over a button-down shirt and a pair of jeans, entered the room, rolling her eyes.</p><p>“Britta?” “Britta!” “Dr. Perry?” Jeff, Ian, and Annie said simultaneously.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Take My Credit Cards</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jeff endures the weirdest breakfast of his life...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>Take My Credit Cards</b>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Umm… hi,” Britta Perry-Duncan waved and greeted them nervously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeff turned to look at Ian, then down at Annie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you know Britta?” He asked her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> know Dr. Perry?” Annie retorted.</span>
</p>
<p><span>“How do </span><em><span>either</span></em> <em><span>of you</span></em><span> know my wife?” Ian interrupted them.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>“I, um, I think I can answer this,” Britta lifted a hand. She pointed at Annie. “Annie is the nurse at my hospital that I’m supposed to start seeing next week. The one that was in the papers for the whole kidnapping, assault thing by her ex-boyfriend, the lawyer?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie gasped, her mouth opening and closing, no sound coming out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And Jeff is the guy I had one date with. The one I climbed out of the window of the bathroom at that restaurant to get away from the night we met.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait.” Jeff slashed his hand through the air. “You climbed out the window in the bathroom to get away from me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You just violated my HIPAA rights by telling all of my business!” Annie squeaked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jeff is the wanker who got shit-faced on your first date and called you a buzzkill?” Ian asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The room was quiet only for a moment, before Abed once again spoke up. “This is interesting. Clearly the writer of this episode wanted to show the reality of what is known as six-degrees of separation. Also to show the possibility of a different timeline. What would have happened if things between Britta and Jeff had worked out. Would they be married right now? Would we then meet Annie through Britta, or would we never know her? If Britta and Jeff married, and he met Annie, who he clearly has more chemistry and compatibility with, would the two of them then have an affair, causing Britta to leave Jeff, and perhaps ending up with Ian in the end regardless?” His eyes took on a faraway expression, and Jeff frowned as he stared at the… quirky, younger man. “The possibilities are endless. Well, not really endless. There are at least four or five other feasible scenarios that could play out if…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Abed. Abed. Remember what we talked about before we came over?” Troy patted Abed on the shoulder and asked, with a hint of cajoling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Abed looked at Troy, then nodded. “Dial down the whimsy until Doreen’s son gets a chance to really get to know us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeff snorted. “Whimsy. Yeah. Right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, the fact is, we all know each other now. I married Ian, because I love him, and Jeff ended up with a woman who can obviously tolerate his arrogance, and need to suppress his feelings of insecurity and anxiety with Scotch,” Britta said snidely with a shrug. “Win-win for all involved.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re just friends,” Annie and Jeff said simultaneously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Friends who are expecting a baby together,” Abed pointed out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Britta lifted her eyebrows and nodded. “Hhmm… interesting. How does that make you feel, Annie?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie rolled her eyes. “Like you should wait a week and talk to me about this in your office, in private, as dictated by the rules of HIPAA and my rights as a patient seeking mental health treatment at Denver University Hospital.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeff snorted and squeezed Annie’s hand again. “Score one for Edison.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, okay. Enough of all the jibber jabber. Let’s have breakfast before the food goes cold,” Doreen stated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone tucked into the food on the table, and what Jeff had once thought was </span>
  <em>
    <span>too much</span>
  </em>
  <span>, now looked as if it wouldn’t be enough to feed everyone. He shook his head when Abed offered him the almost empty plate of pancakes, then turned to smile at Annie when she topped up his mug of coffee.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks,” he said to her with a smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie returned his smile with a big grin of her own. It was the same grin that had stopped his heart all those months ago, and seeing it again made the air catch in his lungs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re welcome.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their eyes caught and held, neither of them speaking, or moving, and Jeff felt his heart galloping in his chest. His fingers twitched, itching to touch her. To hold her. His mouth went dry as he remembered what she felt like beneath him. What she tasted like. What she sounded like moaning and gasping his name.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ohh, I see what you mean. Their chemistry is really thick. Like a winter coat. All warm and snuggly,” Troy’s voice pierced the fog of desire and… </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> much more intimate and </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Jeff didn’t want to look at too closely, that he and Annie found themselves in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeff cleared his throat and looked away from her, aware of Annie doing the same.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Googly eyes,” Doreen muttered. “I remember the first time I gave a man googly eyes. Or wait… I think the first person I gave googly eyes to was Beatrice, my classmate in high school…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mom!” Jeff gasped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doreen simply chuckled, and conversation picked up and continued. And though Jeff didn’t look back over at Annie, he was distinctly aware of her, the heat of her body next to him, warming the left side of his own. It was torturous. It was intoxicating. It was addictive.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was beautiful.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p><span>*</span> <span>*</span> <span>*</span> <span>*</span></p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When breakfast was over, Jeff was quite alarmed to hear Annie making plans to hang out with Troy and Abed later on in the week, and accepting Ian and Britta’s offer to come over and look through their old baby things to see what she could use. He waited until his mother had walked towards the front door to show everyone out, before he gripped Annie’s hand with his own. When she looked up at him, he gave her a gentle smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t need to feel as if you </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to hang out with my mom’s neighbors,” he told her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie nodded and smiled back at him. “I know, but…” She shrugged. “I have some friends at work, and I’m sure they’ll come by to visit at some point, but they have their own lives. It will be nice to make some friends closer to… well, home. I mean, I’ll be here for a while, right? So better to get to know them, than to be a hermit way out here.” She stepped close and placed a hand on his chest. “But thank you for being concerned about me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeff nodded, then leaned down and pressed a kiss to Annie’s forehead, inhaling deeply of the scent of her hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Strawberries and vanilla.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stood pressed together for a moment, before Jeff stepped back. He pushed back some of Annie’s hair, behind her ear and gestured with his head up the stairs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Want to start unpacking your room, or the nursery first?” He asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Annie squealed and bounced up and down on her toes, clapping her hands together, he nodded before she needed to say a word.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nursery?” He asked rhetorically, then let out a loud chuckle as she took his hand and dragged him up the stairs, ignoring his mother standing in the entryway of her home, a smug smile on her lips.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Here's The Watch That My Grandpa Gave Me...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Annie and Jeff start to set up the nursery and visit the OBGYN's office...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <b>Here’s The Watch That My Grandpa Gave Me</b>
  </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>They had been in the room set aside to be the nursery for a couple of hours, and Annie was feeling extremely…</p><p>Unprepared.</p><p>She’d slowly been collecting and buying neutral baby clothes, shoes, diapers. She’d bought a tiny dresser, but hadn’t been able to decide on a crib or a changing table, because she was still doing research. She had a <em> Diaper Genie </em>, a bassinet, she even had a newborn, infant, and a toddler carseat, but she hadn’t been able to decide on a stroller.</p><p>She felt as if she were failing as a parent.</p><p>“Wow, you have a lot more here than I expected,” Jeff said, with a considering tone, and Annie looked at him with wide eyes.</p><p>“What? Are you kidding me?” She gestured around the room. “We don’t have a crib, or a changing table. I don’t have a rocking chair. We don’t have a baby bathtub, I need more diapers, we need more clothes. I need receiving blankets, christening clothes, clothes to bring the baby home from the hospital. We don’t have baby wipes, because the reviews on the different brands are mixed. Then there’s baby powder, baby lotions, baby socks, baby bedding for the cribs, baby shampoo and conditioner, baby brushes. Then we have to find a Temple nearby to have a Bris and a church to then have the baby christened, and…” she stopped when Jeff gripped her shoulders in his hands.</p><p>“Annie! Annie! Just breathe,” he told her firmly.</p><p>She looked up, staring into his blue eyes, and inhaled deeply, before exhaling just as deeply. She nodded. “Sorry. I kind of freak out sometimes when things aren’t in order, or I haven’t prepared enough,”</p><p>Jeff smirked. “Yeah, I noticed.” He gestured around the room. “A lot of this is based on the baby’s gender. Do we know what we’re having yet?”</p><p>Annie ignored the feeling of warmth that spread through her at his words, leaning into the relief at realizing that she was no longer doing this alone. While she wouldn’t allow herself to depend on Jeff too much--she’d learned her lesson after everything that happened with Kenny--she would allow herself a bit of enjoyment and relief at the fact that she did have someone, or two people, who would help her through this pregnancy.</p><p>“No, not yet,” she answered. “I… um… I actually have another appointment in two days, if you want to come with me.” She refused to meet Jeff’s eyes, instead she looked around the room.</p><p>“Yeah? You wouldn’t mind?”</p><p>Annie shook her head. “No. I would love to have you there.”</p><p>She glanced up then, and saw the small smile that spread across Jeff’s lips in that moment. “Okay. I’ll be there then,” he replied.</p><p>They both stood there, neither speaking or moving, simply breathing one another in, until they jumped slightly apart when Doreen appeared in the doorway of the nursery, dragging a rocking chair, with a footstool sitting on the cushion, into the room. She stepped out of the way as Jeff walked over and lifted the rocking chair, carrying it into the room and sitting it down in an empty corner of the room.</p><p>“Wipe the drool from your lips, honey. You don’t want him to see,” Doreen whispered in Annie’s ear.</p><p>Annie gasped, lifting her hand to her mouth and wiping it and her chin quickly of any… “appreciation saliva” that may be there. She didn’t find any, however, so she turned and looked at Doreen with a frown, her eyebrows lowered. She rolled her eyes and huffed out in exasperation when Doreen snorted on a laugh.</p><p>“Doreen!”</p><p>“Oh, I like you honey.” Doreen nudged her. “It’s perfectly okay. I did make a pretty man.”</p><p>Annie could only nod in agreement, a soft smile on her face. She quickly adopted a neutral expression when Jeff turned back towards them, after having set up the rocking chair. He quirked his eyebrow and lifted one corner of his mouth up into a sardonic smile.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Nothing,” Annie and Doreen responded in unison, before looking at each other, and laughing heartily.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>* * * *</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Three days later, Annie sat in the waiting room of Dr. Garrity’s OBGYN’s office. She’d initially been hesitant to have a man as her obstetrician, but after meeting him, and hearing him talk about his partner, a police officer who was often asked to do “gun safety and awareness” seminars, she’d been relieved and reassured. She was especially happy that she’d gone with Dr. Garrity after noticing the way Jeff had reacted when they’d first shown up at the clinic.</p><p>Seated in the waiting room with them were pregnant women, some who were alone, some who were with their partners. There were also women there who were trying to get pregnant, had just delivered, or were just there for a general gynecological checkup. But it was the male nurse, and the deliverymen, as well two of the other male doctors in the clinic who had caused Jeff to move closer to her, his eyes ever watchful.</p><p>Which had almost caused Annie to have a panic attack.</p><p>If Jeff had displayed his slightly possessive, jealous attitude before she’d met Kenny, Annie was pretty sure that she would have been flattered. Sitting in the waiting room, her cheeks flushed, breathing heavily, eyelashes fluttering, as she pushed her hair behind her ears. But she and Jeff resided in a weird B.K.A./A.K.A. state: Before Kenny’s Abduction/After Kenny’s Abduction. So because of that she was both extremely comfortable with him, and also wary. It was very confusing and tiring for someone who was already trying to grow an entire human inside of them.</p><p>“Annie Edison?” The male nurse, an older biracial man, with salt and pepper hair, with glasses resting on his thin nose, whose nametag identified him as: Gilbert, called for her.</p><p>Annie nodded, then pushed herself up from her chair, Jeff rising beside her.</p><p>“Um, sir? Did you need something?” Gilbert asked.</p><p>Annie took Jeff’s hand with her own for just a moment. “He’s with me, Gilbert.”</p><p>Gilbert’s eyebrows lifted for just a moment, and he nodded. “Noted. Is he the father? Shall we add him to your file?”</p><p>Annie inclined her head as they followed Gilbert down the hallway towards the scale. “Yes, please. His name is Jeff Winger.”</p><p>Jeff handed Gilbert his business card. “This is my card with all of my contact information. You can just use that. Oh and…” He pulled out another card, and Annie glanced over as she sat down her purse, took off her cardigan, and took off her shoes, placing them all in the chair resting next to the scale.</p><p><em> Anything to help the scale be more… accurate </em>.</p><p>“Your health insurance card?” Gilbert asked in confusion.</p><p>Jeff nodded. “Yeah, you know to help pay for everything. You know any expenses or whatever. I mean, I only went to add her yesterday so I’m not sure if the HR lady at my firm got it done just yet, but…”</p><p>Annie touched his arm. “You added me to your insurance?” She asked.</p><p>Jeff shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Yeah, I mean, it’s no big deal, but you know I figured it would be easier with the baby, and with the payments, and appointments, and everything. I mean, I also put you and the baby down as sharing the role of beneficiary of my life insurance with my mom…”</p><p>Annie shook her head. “You didn’t want to ask me about this first? Or at least talk to me?”</p><p>Jeff frowned. “Why? It’s my money, my insurance, and you’re carrying my kid.”</p><p>Annie put her hands on her hips. “Jeff… I’m a nurse at a hospital where Dr. Garrity has privileges. I get an employee discount here. Add to that my own exceptional, premium medical insurance? Yours would pay no more than maybe like $1 if there even <em> was </em> anything left to pay.” She sighed when she saw Jeff’s face fall at her words, and she reached up to cup his cheek in her hand. “But thank you for wanting to help, and trying to take care of us,” she said, placing both hands on her baby bump. “You’re going to be a good dad.”</p><p>Jeff’s eyes looked earnest and contained immense vulnerability, as he tilted his head and stepped slightly closer, his voice soft, his tone pleading. “Yeah? You think so?”</p><p>“I <em> know </em> so,” Annie touched his shoulder and smiled at him.</p><p>“This is all really touching, and very interesting from a dramatic sense, but really, it’s just delaying your examination. So, if I could continue?” Gilbert interrupted them.</p><p>Annie blushed and turned to face forward on the scale. She winced when the scale showed that she’d already gained 10 pounds.</p><p>
  <em> Barely out of the first trimester. I guess I can look forward to gaining another 10 or 20 before this is all over. Maybe I should look into some pregnancy pilates or pregnancy yoga or something. </em>
</p><p>She and Jeff were then escorted into an examination room, where they waited for the doctor to show up. She had her blood drawn, and accepted the plastic sample cup from Gilbert to fill with her urine, sighing as she relieved her bladder. After, she changed into a hospital gown and thanked Jeff as he helped her sit on the reclining, hospital bed, tugging the white sheet over her legs.</p><p>“Hello, Miss Edison and Mr. Winger, how are we doing today?” Dr. Garrity greeted them as he stepped into the room. Annie grinned at the man, swallowing back the giggle that always wanted to spill forth when she saw the salt and pepper haired man with his facial hair, and surprisingly svelte frame. She’d told him more than once that he looked like he belonged on Broadway, and had been surprised to find out that the older man had, in fact, taken a gap year after graduating from high school to go and pursue acting in New York, but it hadn’t worked out. She wasn’t sure how his acting was, but she knew he was a comforting and competent doctor. Which is all she cared about.</p><p>“Doing well, Doctor Garrity,” she answered.</p><p>“Nice to meet you,” Jeff stated, then pulled out his phone. “Annie is still experiencing morning sickness, is that normal?”</p><p>Dr. Garrity blinked in surprise. “Um… yes, it is, Mr. Winger. Some women have nausea throughout their entire pregnancy.”</p><p>Jeff nodded. “Okay, and I’ve noticed that she has a particular vein at the back of her right knee, it’s very thick, and blue, and seems to be very sensitive when I touch it, or when she sits down sometimes, is that something we should be concerned about?” He asked, looking down at his phone.</p><p>Dr. Garrity looked over at Annie and she knew he could see the shock on her face. She wasn’t only surprised that Jeff apparently had a list of questions for the doctor, but that he’d been paying such attention to her. Especially since he’d spent two days back at his own apartment because he’d had to work.</p><p>“It’s possible that her blood pressure could be high, or that her circulation is bad. We’ll check it out.” Dr. Garrity cleared his throat. “Why don’t we do an ultrasound and get a quick looksee at your little bundle of joy, huh?”</p><p>Annie nodded quickly, bouncing slightly and lay back, her head turned towards the currently blank screen. She shivered as the ultrasound tech, who’d been standing off to the side of the room, stepped forward and squirted the transducer gel on her belly. The press of the transducer wand was next, and it wasn’t long before…</p><p>
  <em> Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Woosh, woosh, woosh, woosh, woosh. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Thump, woosh, thump, woosh, thump, woosh. </em>
</p><p>“What’s that? Why is it so loud and fast?” Jeff asked softly.</p><p>“That, Mr. Winger, is your baby,” the technician said, then she pointed out the form in the middle of the screen in black and white, as it faded in and out, Annie felt a lump rise in her throat as she watched her baby’s arm lift, and though she wasn’t certain, she would have sworn it was waving.</p><p>“Do you want to know the sex?”</p><p>Annie looked up at Jeff and he nodded.</p><p>The technician clicked a few buttons then stopped and pointed.</p><p>“Congratulations, Mom and Dad. You’re having a boy.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know these chapters haven't been as long as some of my others, but I wanted to give you some of this story before I'm laid out after my surgery. I hope you enjoyed them! Thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. There's Gonna Be A Little One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jeff meets a new woman. Annie meets a neighbor of Doreen's named Shirley. And the group gets together for movie night.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I saw this chapter going differently, but then news hit of Chadwick Boseman passing away, and well... this is what came about.<br/>While I didn't know him personally, his career, and especially his role on the movie, Black Panther, had a profound affect on me, my siblings, my family, and so many others. His death has affected so many of us, and so, while I didn't want to lose the heart or the spirit of this story, and want to stay true to the Community fandom and that of the J/A ship, I had to pay homage to the man who has such a profound legacy, and a man who will always be, for so many: King T'Challa of Wakanda.</p>
<p>RIP Chadwick Boseman</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>There’s Gonna Be A Little One</b>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeff stood in the middle of the Real Baby store, holding two different types of baby outfits in his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>A son. I’m going to have a son.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello? Sir? Can I help you?” A soft, sweet voice asked and Jeff turned to meet the gaze of the store associate who’d asked. Standing next to him was a tall, plus size, black woman, with thick thighs, a full bust, hazel brown eyes that shone with intelligence, kindness, and a bit of interest, full lips split into a wide grin, dark brown skin, long legs, and black hair pulled back into a ponytail at the back of her head. Jeff found himself checking out the unknown woman.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Very nice.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, um… well, no… I mean…” he shook his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The associate giggled and shook her head. “Just find out that you’re going to be a father?” She asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A couple of weeks ago, but I just found out that it’s a boy,” he responded, rubbing the back of his neck. He chuckled and wagged his head slowly from side to side in amazement. “I’m going to have a son.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The associate smiled and reached out to straighten the clothes on the rack in front of him. “Congratulations. I know you and your wife must be very happy,” she said softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeff waved his hand through the air, brushing aside her words. “Oh no, we’re not married. I mean… I guess you could say we’re friends…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The associate’s eyes widened, her mouth fell open in a perfect O, and she nodded. “Ohhh I see! Well, you know we get a lot of unconventional families here. And really—” she leaned forward and dropped her voice, gazing back over her shoulder at an older white woman with white hair. “—my brother, Curtis, and his partner, Max, did the same thing. They both donated their… um… </span>
  <em>
    <span>sperm</span>
  </em>
  <span> to a female friend and she got pregnant and now I have the most adorable niece in the world.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeff nodded, his mind still swirling with the change of his life’s path. Then, the associate’s words penetrated the fog that surrounded him and he gasped, quickly shaking his head and denying her insinuations. He chuckled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! No no no. I’m not gay. I mean, I know the muscles and stunning good looks lend credence to that assumption, but I’m not. Annie, that’s the mother’s name, and I only hooked up the one time but you know—” He shrugged. “And I decided to help her out because, you know, she’s been through a lot, and she’s carrying my kid.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>My son</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, you’re a really good guy,” the associate said. She held out her hand. “My name is Latodra. It’s nice to meet you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeff smiled back at her and took her hand with his own. “Jeff Winger.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, Jeff,” Latodra winked at him seductively. “Let’s look at some clothes and things for your son.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p><span>***</span> <span>***</span> <span>***</span> <span>***</span></p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie sat outside on the front porch of Doreen’s home, rocking back and forth in the white, wooden rocking chair that Jeff had brought outside just for her. She dropped her hand down to her pregnant belly which seemed—at least to her—to be growing bigger with every breath that she took. She couldn’t believe that she was having a son. A boy. A little baby boy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I hope he doesn’t get Jeff’s forehead, but I wouldn’t mind if our son got the rest of his face.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sitting back, she continued to rock as she pictured her baby boy and the different physical variations he could have.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Annie, darling. There you are!” Doreen’s voice came from behind her as she stepped out of the house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie turned to look at the older woman and smiled. She really liked Jeff’s mother. The woman was open, friendly, and non judgemental. She was a marked difference from Annie’s own mother who was a bit more… exacting. As a matter of fact, Annie couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually spoken to her mother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh wait… it was the day after she was rescued from Kenny.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh, hello Annabeth. I had heard that you found yourself in a little bit of a scrape? I am happy to hear that HaShem saw fit to spare you. How can I help you today, darling? And do make it fast, I am supposed to be having dinner with the Schwartzes in an hour.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie hadn’t even spoken after that. She’d merely hung up the phone. Looking to her mother for comfort was an exercise in futility. She’d known that. And yet, coming out of what was essentially her darkest hours she’d still reached out to her mother for comfort. Something that she now knew would never happen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you need something, Mrs. Fitzgerald?” Annie asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doreen scowled. “Annie, I told you to call me Doreen. I mean, you’re carrying my grandson inside of you.” She then gave Annie a mischievous grin. “Or you could always call me, Mom. You know. To get used to it by the time you and Jeffrey get married?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie scoffed, then shook her head with a laugh. “Oh, Doreen… Jeff and I are just having a baby together, we’re not actually going to get married.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doreen hummed in disbelief. “Okay dear, whatever you say.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two women sat in companionable silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts before the quiet was broken by a loud, cloying greeting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hel-lo Dor-een! Good morning to you and your… um… guest!” A curvy, black woman called out, her curly black hair trailing behind her, as she hurried across the street, with three young black boys trailing behind her, holding her hand over a Baby Bjorn that was strapped across her chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh god, Shirley Butcher…” Doreen groaned before her face transformed into a tight smile and she waved. “Shirley!” Doreen turned to Annie and took her hand. “I apologize for the sermon you’re about to endure, ahead of time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie frowned in confusion, Shirley Butcher looked like a nice woman, and her kids looked as if they </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be with her, not like they were being dragged along behind her. Before she could turn to Doreen to ask her why she had a problem with her neighbor, the other woman had already come abreast of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice to see you this morning, Doreen! How are you?” Shirley asked, a wide grin on her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m doing great, Shirley. Thank you so much for asking. How are you and the kids doing?” Doreen asked, and she glanced across the street. “And where is that husband of yours?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shirley practically preened at Doreen’s words and she reached out to run her hands over her sons’ heads. “Oh, Michael is doing just great! He just received </span>
  <em>
    <span>another</span>
  </em>
  <span> promotion at DPD.” She leaned forward as if to whisper a secret to Doreen and Annie. “You know, I don’t think it will be too long before he becomes Police Chief.” She crossed herself with her free hand. “If it’s the Lord’s will, of course.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie noticed the moment that Doreen glanced at her out of the side of her eye, and she covered her mouth to hide her smile. As if she were once again aware of the unknown person sitting with Doreen, Shirley turned to Annie and gave her a tight smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And who is this?” Shirley asked. She gave Annie an appraising look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie smiled back at her, then held out her hand as Doreen made the introductions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shirley Butcher, this is Annie Edison. She and my son, Jeff, are expecting a baby together, and she’s come to stay with me to get some help during the pregnancy and the first few weeks after the baby is born, because it’s her first. Annie, this is Shirley Butcher. My neighbor and owner, operator, and amazing chef over at Shirley’s, the best soul food restaurant in all of Colorado,” Doreen stated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shirley preened again as she took Annie’s hand and gave it a firm shake.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s so nice to meet you, An-nie. I remember the nervousness and the heightened anticipation that comes with having your first child. It’s a good thing that you have Doreen here to help you. Though it has been a while since she’s done such a thing…” She cast a glance in Doreen’s direction. “Why, Doreen! You didn’t tell me that your son, Jef-frey had gotten married!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doreen gave Shirley a tight smile and Annie felt a bit like she was caught in the middle of some long, unspoken of, feud between them. Almost as if they were the dearest of frenemies and it all sort of centered around some subject or slight that Annie was completely unaware of. A part of her wanted to make her excuses and go back inside so she could sit in the nursery that she, Jeff, and Doreen had put together. Everything wasn’t in there, but it was enough to give “Baby Edison-Winger” a start.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Baby Edison?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Baby Winger?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Baby Winger-Edison?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie shook her head and settled more deeply into her chair as she waited to see how Doreen handled her neighbor; completely giving into her second urge which was to be nosey and to get some really good gossip to share with Troy and Abed when they came over that night for “movie night.” Annie had never met two men more into television and movies than Abed and Troy. And while she was given more towards watching romantic comedies, romantic dramas on television, reading romances, and well… spending copious amounts of time pouring over medical texts, a part of her felt as if she needed to… </span>
  <em>
    <span>indulge</span>
  </em>
  <span> the two young men because she was expecting a son, herself.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Well, who said that they were married, Shirley?” Doreen asked with a smirk, and it was then that Annie realized that perhaps Jeff’s signature half-smile, was something he’d inherited from his mother, and not something he’d crafted himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Shirley’s gasp of surprise and… indignation?—brought Annie crashing down from her internal musings back to the present.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-you’re not…” Shirley pointed at Annie, stammering, and it brought Annie immense pleasure to be able to shake her head. Talking to Doreen’s neighbor was a bit like speaking to her own mother. Shirley waved a hand in front of her and shook her head. “Well, I will just have to pray for the two of you to come to your senses before that baby is born.” She nodded her head decisively.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shirley! Stop preaching at our neighbors and get back over here, it’s time to take a nap!” A rather distinguished looking white man, whose skin was tanned, but not as tanned as Jeff’s, with brown hair, a square chin, his lean body wrapped in a dark blue suit, his hand holding onto a wooden cane.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good morning, Detective Butcher!” Doreen called out with a wave.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Detective Butcher nodded and waved back. “Mornin’ Ms Fitzgerald. Hope you’re having a good morning?” He didn’t wait for her to respond before he gestured at Shirley. “Let’s go Mrs. Butcher. Your husband needs you before he has to go back to work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shirley giggled and Annie’s eyes widened in surprise. She watched with bemusement as Shirley turned and began to usher her sons back across the street, and that was when Annie got a good look at the baby pressed against Shirley’s chest. It was a baby girl, with long lashes pressed against her coffee and cream colored skin, her thick black hair pushed back by a pink headband.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She’s so adorable.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s how we ended up with Mary, Mr. Butcher!” Shirley said in a voice filled with amusement as she hurried over to her husband.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie sat next to Doreen as the two of them watched Shirley return to her husband. It wasn’t until the Butcher family went inside, the door closing behind them, that Annie turned to Doreen to get the story.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Soo… want to tell me what that’s about?” She asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doreen rolled her eyes. “It’s a long story… one best shared over a nice big bowl of ice cream.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie laughed. “Doreen! It’s only ten o’clock in the morning!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doreen shrugged. “Well then we’ll have our ice cream with a large mug of coffee.” She laughed. “Decaf for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie nodded and pushed herself up out of the rocking chair. “Oh! Can I have mine with turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, pickles, and fudge?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doreen rolled her eyes and intertwined her arm with Annie’s as she led her inside the house. “Oh yes, you’re definitely pregnant with a Winger baby. They eat all of their junk food, carbs, and things when they’re in the womb, then they don’t touch the stuff once they learn how to say the word, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two women laughed and continued on inside of the house.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p><span>***</span> <span>***</span> <span>***</span> <span>***</span></p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Kenneth growled as one of the other inmates got a little too close to his table. He had expected prison to be… unbearable. But instead, he found himself surrounded by men who were just like him. Screwed over by women.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Some had killed </b>
  <b>
    <em>for</em>
  </b>
  <b> a woman.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Some had killed </b>
  <b>
    <em>because</em>
  </b>
  <b> of a woman.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>And some had killed a woman.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>There were some who had asserted their god-given right as a man to have sex with a woman who had been teasing him relentlessly.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Kenneth identified with them all.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>He ignored the ones who talked about how they had been changed, “redeemed”, by their imprisonment, and instead he stayed close to the ones who were unrepentant. The ones who talked about their murders, assaults, rapes, their break-ins, robberies, their mutilation and torture of others, with a measure of pride in their voices. Those were the ones he was going to learn from. Those were the ones he would become close to. The ones who would teach him. Help him to become a better version of the man he already was.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>They would help him prepare for the day he got out.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>And the day he went after Annie Edison and Jeff Winger… and that bastard baby they’d created.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>And he killed them all.</b>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p><span>***</span> <span>***</span> <span>***</span> <span>***</span></p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie, Doreen, Troy, and Abed were all sitting in Doreen’s living room, their eyes glued to the large screen television, as they watched Chadwick Boseman star in </span>
  <b>“Black Panther”</b>
  <span>. They were having a “CB Memoriam Movie Marathon” in honor of the actor who had passed away from colon cancer. Annie regularly reached over to pat Troy’s hand as the younger man sat watching the movies with silent tears rolling down his cheeks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When the front door opened, Annie expected to see Britta, Ian, and their kids walking into the house, since they’d confirmed that they would be coming over to watch movies with them, but instead…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Who is that woman with Jeff?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jeffrey! I didn’t think you were actually going to come over for movie night!” Doreen exclaimed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jeff shrugged. “Latodra wanted to come once she heard what we were watching and well…” He smiled down at the other woman. “I will do anything to see that smile on her face.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doreen shared a look with Annie, and Annie could only hope that her face didn’t betray the sense of disappointment and sharp twinge of betrayal that sliced through her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can sit next to me, Latodra,” Abed said with a tilt of his head. “That way I can explain to you the significance of the characters, graphics, and the actors.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Latodra glanced up at Jeff then she smiled back at Abed. “I would love to,” she said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Abed nodded, before he turned his head to look at Annie. “It’s not weird for you is it?” He questioned her as Latodra headed over to the couch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Annie wondered, hoping her voice didn’t betray her emotions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Being pregnant with Jeff’s baby and yet, meeting his new girlfriend?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annie opened her mouth to say… something, but she stopped when Latodra held out her hand to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re Annie? It’s so nice to meet you. Jeff has told me so much about you. Congratulations on the baby.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know this chapter is short, but like I stated in the notes above, it kind of took a turn after the news got out about the passing of Chadwick Boseman. But, I wanted to post a chapter since I'd promised, and I honestly had this in my head and needed to get it out, but I can tell you that next week's chapter will be longer. Especially because there are still some people missing and Annie's about to meet them all (Pierce, Chang, "Dean" Craig Pelton, Buzz Hickey, and Frankie Dart).</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Doctor Says The Baby's Fine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jeff receives a call early in the morning that changes his life and Annie's as well...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Angst and sadness ahead! And Kenneth gets even more evil.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> <b>Doctor Says The Baby’s Fine</b> </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“Hello?” Jeff answered, he held his phone in his hand, his eyes still closed, as he tried to wake up fully.</p><p>“Jeff? Who is it?” Latodra asked sleepily next to him, and Jeff reached out to tap her comfortingly on the thigh.</p><p>“Oh! Jeff, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean… you’ve got Latodra there with you?” Annie’s voice sounded hesitant and apologetic, and Jeff instantly sat up straight in bed.</p><p>“Annie? Are you okay?”</p><p>“Y-yeah. Um… it’s just…” Annie sighed and Jeff turned and instantly climbed out of bed. He started to get dressed as he waited for Annie to tell him what was wrong.</p><p>“Annie?” Jeff held his phone to his ear by pressing it against his shoulder and searched around in his dresser for a shirt and a pair of jeans. He could only hope he chose something that paired well together. No matter what was going on, he had to make sure that he looked his best. When his bedroom lights turned on, he gasped and glanced around for a moment, then nodded at Latodra as she shuffled back to the bed. Focusing on the clothes he’d grabbed, Jeff winced when he noticed the colors.</p><p>
  <em> Thank god Latodra turned on the lights. </em>
</p><p>“Annie, just tell me what’s wrong?” He pleaded.</p><p>“Y-your mom went to go and visit your uncle over in Wisconsin for a couple of days. She’s supposed to be back tomorrow, but I-I got up to go to the store because I was craving some sardines with chocolate ice cream, and we’re all out of sardines…” she rambled. Jeff cleared his throat, and Annie paused for a second. “Anyway, I got to the store and this guy started following me around the store. I ignored him at first, but then he got really close to me and started talking.”</p><p>Jeff clenched his fist as he listened to Annie talk. “Are you okay? Who was this guy? Did you call the police? Did he hurt you?”</p><p>“Jeff!” Annie’s voice was shaky and full of fear, but her shout shut him up quickly. “I got freaked out and I dropped everything and ran back to the car your mom lets me use. I drove back really fast, but once I got back in the house… Jeff… I’m bleeding.”</p><p>Jeff felt as if his stomach fell through his body and splattered on the floor beneath him.</p><p>“I’m on my way.”</p><p>Then, dropping his clothes, he rushed out of his apartment, barefoot, and only stopping to grab his keys and wallet. His ears rang, everything around him blurring, his mind focused on one thing.</p><p>His son, and his Annie were in danger.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>*** *** *** ***</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>He was a quarter of a mile away from his mother’s house, when he thought to call 911. Then he was pulling into the driveway when he realized that he was practically naked. He raced into the house, shouting Annie’s name, just as the sound of sirens could be heard.</p><p>“In here, Jeff!” Annie’s voice came from the hallway bathroom and he ran inside, stopping at the horrific sight that greeted him.</p><p>Annie sat on the floor, with blood beneath her, her face pale and splotchy, tears running down her cheeks.</p><p>“Oh baby,” Jeff whispered, as he stepped over to her and gathered her into his arms. “Are you okay?”</p><p>Annie buried her face in his chest, and he was aware of the paramedics calling out from the home’s entryway.</p><p>“We’re back here!” He yelled out.</p><p>“I’m a nurse, Jeff. I-I should have known to call 911. I-I should know w-what’s wrong,” she stammered, her body shuddering in his arms.</p><p>Jeff shushed her. “It’s different when you’re the one in distress, Annie. When you’re the one in need of care.” He glanced up at the paramedics and nodded for them to enter.</p><p>“What’s your name, ma’am?” One of the paramedics, a young man, probably early 30’s, Hispanic, his wavy black hair pulled back into a ponytail, asked as he came over and placed a blood pressure cuff on Annie’s arm. The other paramedic, a tall, buxom black woman, her hair brown and streaked blonde liberally, came over to where Jeff knelt, and placed a fetal heart monitor on Annie’s belly.</p><p>“Annie Edison,” Annie answered. Her wide eyes watching everything the paramedics were doing.</p><p>“How far along are you, Annie?” Josephs, according to his nametag, asked.</p><p>“Uh-um… seven months yesterday,” Annie answered.</p><p>Jeff’s eyes widened and he started to count backwards. <em> Holy shit. Has it been seven months already? </em></p><p>“Okay, so you know that even at 7 months, 28 weeks, your baby can be delivered and be healthy and survive, right?” Josephs told her.</p><p>“I-is that what’s happening? Is the baby coming?” Jeff asked.</p><p>Anderson, according to her nametag, and <em> okay, that’s their last name </em>, glanced over at Jeff, then back at Josephs.</p><p>“The baby’s heart is beating, but it’s slowing down. We need to get her to the hospital, and fast, so they can deliver the baby,” she said.</p><p>“We would need to get a doctor to confirm it, but I think this is a placental abruption, which means we have very little time to get Mrs. Edison to the hospital if we want to save her and the baby,” Josephs stated. Then, Jeff was gently pushed to the side, as the two paramedics quickly got Annie positioned on a backboard, then onto a stretcher, before wheeling her out. He tried not to look at the blood on his mother’s bathroom floor, refused to look at the blood staining Annie’s grey maternity pants, and instead, he went to the hall closet and grabbed a hoodie and pair of lounge pants that he’d left the last time he’d come to visit. As he followed the paramedics out to the ambulance, he dressed quickly. He pulled the door closed behind him, then found that Britta, Ian, Troy, Abed, Shirley, her husband—what was his name again?—and some old guy, that looked vaguely familiar to Jeff, were all standing out on the street.</p><p>“Is Annie okay?” Britta asked.</p><p>Jeff swallowed thickly, and waited anxiously for the paramedics to load her in the ambulance. “No,” he choked out, shaking his head. “We’re headed to the hospital.”</p><p>“Is there anything we can do, mate?” Ian asked.</p><p>Jeff stared at the other man, and almost shook his head no. Instead he said. “Call my mom and tell her what’s going on.”</p><p>He went to step in after Annie, but stopped for just a moment and glanced over at Shirley, a woman he knew was religiously inclined.</p><p>“And pray. Pray for Annie. And pray for our son.”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>*** *** *** ***</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>“Mr. Edison…”</p><p>Jeff looked up at the doctor who stood in front of him. He’d been separated from Annie as soon as they’d walked in the door. He’d fought against the doctors, nurses, and other hospital personnel at Denver University Hospital, until security showed up. Though the situation had been explained to the two older men, who looked as if they were anxious to fight him, Jeff still found himself hauled over to the waiting room and forced to sit there, filled with anxiety and fear, as he waited to hear if his Annie survived.</p><p>If his son had survived.</p><p>That had been more than four hours ago. Jeff had answered his mother’s call and told her what he knew, he’d also told his good friend and colleague, Mark, that he didn’t need him to come over to the hospital when he’d phoned. Jeff had been a little surprised that Mark knew what was going on, until he’d been informed that his mother’s neighbor—and one of Annie’s new friends—Abed had called everyone whose number he’d gotten when he went through Jeff’s phone at one of the dinners he’d attended at Jeff’s mother’s home.</p><p>Jeff jumped up to his feet and bounced on his feet, his hands clenched in front of him.</p><p>“How’s Annie? Is she okay? Is she alive? How’s our baby? Our son? Are they okay?” He rambled out quickly, barely restraining himself from reaching out and shaking the doctor.</p><p>“Mr. Edison!” The doctor held up a hand and slammed his fingers down onto his fingers quickly, and Jeff closed his mouth almost immediately and went quiet. He tilted his head to the side, amazed at the doctor’s ability to make him shut up so efficiently.</p><p>
  <em> That is an amazing skill. I’m going to need to learn it one day. </em>
</p><p>“Follow me,” the doctor… Doctor Patel, according to his nametag, said, as he led Jeff away from the waiting room. He began talking as soon as they passed from the waiting room into the hallway towards the surgical ward.</p><p>“Mrs Edison was suffering from a placental abruption, as the paramedics suggested. We were able to get to her in time, thankfully. Your son was delivered via C-section, and Mrs. Edison was given a transfusion. We were able to stop the blood loss, and she has been moved to recovery. Your son is okay, though he is going to have to be placed in the neonatal intensive care unit. This is to be able to monitor him. He is a preemie, underweight, and may suffer from other health problems. We won’t really know, he will be monitored until he can leave the NICU, then you will need to bring him in a lot more frequently than most other children.” The doctor turned to him. “You may notice certain developmental or physical delays or problems as he grows, so you’re going to have to be constantly aware and on guard.” He spun back around and pushed open another door.</p><p>Jeff, his mind spinning, looked around the room they’d come to. His heart stuttered for a moment as he saw Annie lying in a bed, tubes in both arms, a cannula in her nose, and other things he couldn’t identify. He covered his mouth, then rushed over to her. He hesitated and his hands moved around her face and body without fully touching her.</p><p>“Oh god, Annie,” he whispered brokenly, tears springing to his eyes and rolling down his cheeks. For the first time he could ever remember in his life, Jeff didn’t care if he looked good, or cool, or if anyone would think he was weak for displaying emotion. He only cared about two things in that moment.</p><p>His Annie.</p><p>And his son.</p><p>“I’m here for you, Annie,” he promised. “We’ll figure this out together. I promise.”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>*** *** *** ***</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>The sound of machines beeping woke Annie from the deep, disturbing dreams she’d been having. She’d dreamt of blood. So much blood. Flowing from her body. And pain. Then there was Jeff and Todra talking, though she couldn’t see them. Then Jeff was there, and quickly things changed until she was staring up at the ceiling, with bright lights, and there was something wrong with her baby…</p><p>She gasped and moved to sit up, pain slicing through her belly, she couldn’t lift her hands to place them on her stomach, and when her eyes flew opened, she found out why.</p><p><em> Jeff and Doreen </em>.</p><p>Jeff and his mother both held one of her hands. They were both stirring from their sleep, Jeff being the first one. Annie almost smiled as she watched him come to the realization that she was awake and staring at him. He whispered her name in awe and wonder, before quickly rising to his feet, but gently gathering her into his arms.</p><p>“Oh god, Annie. I’m so glad you’re awake. I was going out of my mind,” he said softly into the top of her head.</p><p>“Thank fuck,” Doreen cursed, and Annie and Jeff broke apart to look at the older woman. She waved off their surprise and made the sign of the cross in front of her. “Don’t mind me dear, it’s just that… I am <em> not </em> a religious woman. I mean, I believe there’s a Higher Power, or maybe even Powers, that created everything, orchestrates our lives to a certain degree, keeps everything from going completely tits up in the world. But I am not a woman who prays, or goes to a chapel to pray, and light candles, and all of that foolishness.” She leaned close to Annie and cupped her face in her surprisingly smooth and unwrinkled hand. Annie had remarked once on how <em> young </em> Doreen appeared. In face and body. Looking a bit like she was merely in her forties rather than… well, much older than that. Doreen had assured Annie that she’d had Jeff at the respectable age of twenty-one, and that due to her abusive ex-husband and also the pain of childbirth, she’d decided to expend all of her energy on the “little bundle of overconfident perfection” that she was given. She’d also stated that she had a rich, diverse familial heritage that kept her looking so young and fit, and when Annie looked at Doreen, then back at Jeff, she was thankful that her son would also be so richly blessed.</p><p>Her son!</p><p>Annie swung her head back around and gripped Jeff’s hand as tightly as she could with her right one.</p><p>“Where is he? Is he okay? Is he… is he…?” She stammered, choking on her final question as tears rushed to her eyes.</p><p>“He’s in the NICU,” Jeff told her. “And he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Annie was stunned as she watched what appeared to be a genuine smile and expression of warmth and caring brighten Jeff’s face. “He’s a little underweight, and he’s small but that’s to be expected since he’s a preemie. His lungs aren’t fully developed, so they’re keeping a close eye on his breathing and things, but they say he’s strong and doing well. His heart is strong. His brain is operating well, from what they can tell, and he’s responding to stimuli. You know moving his arms and legs, and twitching when he’s touched or held.”</p><p>Jeff blushed and Annie was fascinated by the sight of it. “He loves to be cuddled, and skin-to-skin is his favorite. He sort of fusses if you’re wearing a shirt or clothes and you hold him,” he admitted.</p><p>“Which, if you ask me, means that something is wrong,” Doreen huffed. “Like a wire got crossed or something.”</p><p>Jeff rolled his eyes. “Mom, the nurses and the doctors have all said that premature babies all react differently to clothing touching their skin, but that it doesn’t mean that it will have any bearing on if they’re suffering from a brain or skin or nerve or any other type of disorder. Besides, even if there is a problem, which I don’t think there is,” he rushed to assure Annie. “Annie and I will deal with it together. But only if and when we see that there’s an issue, or if and when a doctor informs us that there is.”</p><p>Annie’s eyes widened at Jeff’s words, wondering if he knew that the way he was talking sounded as if he were promising so much more than just co-parenting.</p><p>“How are you going to do that living over forty-five minutes away and dating another woman?” Doreen mumbled.</p><p>Annie squeezed Jeff’s hand, and then Doreen’s when she saw that Jeff was getting ready to argue with his mother. Since she’d moved in with Doreen, she’d been privy to more than one argument a week between the older woman and her son, the father of Annie’s newborn. But this wasn’t the time for their petty squabbling, which Britta would say was just a cover for some underlying resentment and bitterness, and even guilt and shame, between the two of them.</p><p><em> She can be ridiculous, but she’s actually a pretty good therapist, </em> Annie thought of the older woman before she returned her focus back to the present.</p><p>Jeff and Doreen were looking at her anxiously, their blue eyes filled with concern. She gave them both a tremulous smile and cleared her throat.</p><p>“C-can I go s-see him?”</p><p>
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</p><p>*** *** *** ***</p><p>
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</p><p>Annie wasn’t sure what she’d expected. As a nurse at Denver University Hospital, she’d seen her fair share of premature babies, babies in distress, mothers grieving and full of guilt because their child hadn’t been able to gestate in the womb for the full 40 weeks. And yet, it was different for her this time. Perhaps because she was the one sitting in the wheelchair, dressed in a hospital gown, attached to an i.v. machine, tears filling her eyes as Jeff and Doreen helped her wash her hands, and put on a yellow smock to cover her outer gown, pull on a blue protective cap, and gloves, before they once again wheeled her right up to where she wanted to be.</p><p>Annie gasped and covered her mouth, wet, hot tears filled and overflowed from her eyes, trailing down her cheeks, and dampening the front of her smock.</p><p><em> He’s so small </em>.</p><p>“Annie? Are you okay?” Jeff asked as he crouched down next to her.</p><p>She shook her head. “Jeff, look at him… he’s so small. So extremely tiny. I-I… I did that to him.”</p><p>Jeff looked over at his mother and then scoffed. “No you didn’t. This is not your fault, Annie.”</p><p>“It’s absolutely not,” Doreen chimed in. “Believing that is probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth, Annie.”</p><p>Annie glanced up at her son’s grandmother. A woman who had become more than a friend to her. Doreen Fitzgerald was the mother that Annie had never had, but had always wished for. Which was why she didn’t argue back at the older woman when she said that Annie had said something stupid.</p><p>
  <em> I’ve never said a stupid thing once in my life. </em>
</p><p>“Doreen. I’m a nurse. I know the signs. I know the risks, I know…” Annie began, but stopped when Doreen shook her head at her.</p><p>Doreen pointed at the other parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. who stood in front of, or around their own incubated babies. Some were smiling. Some were talking to the babies, with looks of cautious hope on their faces. Some were crying, holding each other close. While some were crying but completely disconnected from the other. Some had looks of guilt, anger, shame, or despair on their faces. But there were two or three families in the room, who looked as if they were suffering the worst pain imaginable, and Annie knew that those families were dealing with the pain of knowing that their baby would likely not survive the week, the month, or the day.</p><p>“You see these other families? The mothers? They’re all feeling the same way you are. Filled with guilt, and shame, self-flagellating themselves because they think it’s all their fault that their child, or a child they were carrying for someone else, is in here. But you’re a nurse, Annie. A damn good one from what I’ve seen. And you know that there are always too many variables, too many unknowns for anyone to blame themselves for their child being born early or with complications,” she pointed out. “You’ve seen women, healthy, who ate all the right things, did that pregnancy yoga or pilates, or whatever bullshit, who took their vitamins, avoided steps, wore flats, and did everything they could to make sure that they gave birth to a healthy baby, who have delivered stillborn babies, or babies without brains, or babies who have a hole in their hearts, or babies who are born with spina bifida. But then you have also seen teenage girls, or women who were on drugs, who didn’t take care of themselves, or didn’t know that they were pregnant, thereby not changing their lifestyle… women who drank or did drugs their entire pregnancy, who ate harmful seafood, who did extreme sports, who walk in here and deliver healthy babies like it was nothing.”</p><p>Doreen shook her head and stroked her hand over Annie’s head. “Life is full of uncertain variables. It’s a complete crapbag, and some things we are responsible for. But somethings? Honey, it’s just the way the dice was rolled for you. Now you have to figure out if you’re going to fight it, or just lay back and let it kill you.”</p><p>Annie blinked at Doreen in surprise before she giggled softly. She looked up at Jeff and indicated his mother with her head. “I see where you get it from,” she teased. “Those speeches you’ve been giving me since we met. Those rallying cries, and calls to battle, that I thought were so unique to you that Abed, Troy, Britta, Ian, Shirley, and I have been calling them Winger speeches, are not unique to you.” She pointed at Doreen. “It’s hereditary. You got it from your mother.”</p><p>Jeff chuckled and nodded. “Okay, you got me. I’m busted. She gave me a pep talk or call to battle speech at least once a week when I was growing up. I may have picked up a thing or two.”</p><p>Annie bobbed her head as well, before she turned to look at Doreen. She squeezed the older woman’s hand. “Thank you,” she said.</p><p>“Yeah, thanks, Mom,” Jeff echoed.</p><p>“Thanks from us too,” a beautiful multicultural couple, a petite black woman, and her Hispanic male partner spoke up.</p><p>“And us,” another couple, both blondes and ethereally beautiful said, as he wrapped his arms around her.</p><p>“And us.”</p><p>“And us.”</p><p>“And us.”</p><p>“And me.”</p><p>“And me.”</p><p>“And us.”</p><p>And on and on it went, until Annie realized that Doreen’s words hadn’t just helped her, but they’d been the succor that everyone in that room had needed to take in at that moment. In order to be refreshed, in order to be able to breathe.</p><p>In order to keep fighting for their children.</p><p>She smiled and this time her tears felt as if they were washing away the guilt and the shame, leaving behind the woman she’d always been. She was determined, driven, and she was a planner. She would research, ask questions, take notes, and she would be ready.</p><p>But first…</p><p>“Maureen? Can I hold my son, please?” She asked her coworker, a redheaded nurse who had been standing by waiting for them, and trying to catch Jeff’s eye shamelessly. Jeff hadn’t noticed her, and Annie had also noticed that he hadn’t called Latodra once, or even texted her. Annie really and truly felt… precious. Special. Cared for.</p><p>And she realized then, that with Jeff, she’d never felt any other way.</p><p>She glanced up at Maureen as the other woman reached into the incubator and lifted out the tiny, pink body of her son, her heart pounding in her chest as she accepted him into her arms. She gasped and swallowed back her tears as she looked down at him attached to, and covered in tubes and wires. She allowed Jeff and Doreen to help her shift her gowns out of the way so that she could press the tiny baby against the skin of her chest. Unable to hold back her tears again, Annie let them fall, and smiled up at Jeff as he wiped them from her face.</p><p>Her heart pounded with a large, unending, unconditional love, the likes of which she’d never felt before. She shook her head and ran one fingertip down the skin of her son’s back.</p><p>“I’m going to take such good care of you. And I’m going to love you so much that you won’t ever doubt that someone cares about you. Thank you,” she choked out. “Thank you for choosing me to be your mother.”</p><p>She smiled up at Jeff as he placed a hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“He needs a name, Jeff. He can’t just be Baby Boy Edison for the rest of his life.”</p><p>Doreen snorted out a laugh. “He’d certainly be unique,” she teased. She lifted her hands in surrender when Annie and Jeff both turned to look at her.</p><p>“What do you want to call him, Annie?” Jeff asked.</p><p>Annie only needed a second to come to a decision. “Jeffrey Levi Edison-Winger,” she said.</p><p>She smiled as Jeff blinked in surprise. “You want to name him after me? And give him my name?” He asked, his voice hoarse with emotion.</p><p>Annie reached up and took Jeff’s hand with her free one. She placed them both on their son’s back and grinned. “He’s your son, Jeff. He’s our son. Of course I want to name him after you.”</p><p>Jeff nodded. “I like it.”</p><p>Annie looked down at the tiny baby boy, JL, and felt her heart expand in her chest once more.</p><p>“Welcome to the world, Jeffrey Levi Edison-Winger.”</p><p>
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</p><p>Jeff stepped out of the hospital to respond to the myriad of missed text messages and phone calls he’d received over the past few days while Annie had been unconscious, and they’d been bonding with their son. <em> Jeffrey Levi. </em></p><p>He tweeted a picture of JL still in the incubator, and posted it onto Facebook, with the message: I’m a father now. World, meet Jeffrey Levi Edison-Winger. The handsomest little boy in the world. 4 lbs 3 oz.</p><p>He smiled as the well-wishes and congratulations started to pour in, and jumped slightly when he heard someone clear their throat in front of him. He looked up and his jaw dropped open at the sight of the person in front of him.</p><p>“Latodra,” he gasped.</p><p>
  <em> Shit. I haven’t talked to her since… since I ran out of my apartment to go take care of Annie. </em>
</p><p>“Hi, Jeff,” Latodra said with a sad smile. “Miss me?”</p><p>When Jeff stammered, she nodded. “Yeah, I kinda figured.” She laughed sadly and shrugged. “I didn’t want to admit it all of those times I saw the two of you together, but… she’s the one for you, Jeff.”</p><p>Jeff opened his mouth to refute her words but stopped when she shook her head.</p><p>“I know you had to rush off to take care of her. To get her to the hospital. To be here, worrying about her and your son when it all first happened, but the thing is, Jeff? It’s been a week. A week and if I didn’t become friends with that Abed kid, then I wouldn’t have known that you had a son, or that Annie was okay, or really… anything.” She shrugged. “He called me because he thought I knew. Because <em> he </em> knew, Jeff. Do you realize that you told everyone who is close to Annie and your mother, even your friends, but you didn’t tell me? You don’t do that when you’re serious about someone. When you’re actually committed to them.” She lowered her voice. “When they mean something to you.”</p><p>She lifted her chin and squared her shoulders and Jeff was struck once again by her beauty, and her independence, as well as her unwillingness to settle or compromise. Though he wanted to deny her statement, wanted to <em> Winger Speech </em> her into forgiving him, and not breaking up with him, a glance down at the picture on his phone, one of the ones he’d posted to Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, prevented him from doing that. It was a picture of Annie holding JL, a soft smile on her face, her big blue eyes shining with happiness and determination, and he knew. He <em> knew </em> that Latodra was right. When he lifted his gaze back to hers, she gave him a small grin.</p><p>“Yeah, I knew you would see it to.” She leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, before handing him the keys to his apartment. “I locked up your apartment behind me with the spare set of keys you gave me. I wish you all the best, Jeff. You, Annie, and your son. He’s really beautiful, and I’m sure you’ll all be very happy together.”</p><p>She turned to walk away, but stopped and looked back at him. “It was fun, Jeff. Thanks for inviting me into your world even if it wasn’t forever.”</p><p>“Thanks, Latodra. All the best to you as well. I’m sorry,” he apologized.</p><p>She laughed softly. “Don’t apologize to me, Jeff. Apologize to Annie. For not making her yours from the very beginning.”</p><p>And with that, she walked off, climbing into a silver Cadillac that had been waiting for her. Jeff wondered for a moment if it was some guy she’d been seeing on the side, but the sight of a pale face and dark hair, and a decidedly female face, absolved him of that suspicion. As did her words.</p><p>“Thanks Frankie.”</p><p>His natural curiosity, and need for gossip almost had him taking a picture of the woman’s license plate, but he didn’t do that either. Instead, he looked back down at his phone, smiled at the picture there, and headed back inside the hospital.</p><p>
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  <b>In the Colorado state prison, Kenneth stared at the picture on Facebook that he could see under the fake profile he’d created.</b>
</p><p><b> <em>Jeffrey Levi Edison-Winger</em> </b> <b>, he sneered internally.</b></p><p>
  <b>“Enjoy it while it lasts, Winger. As soon as I get out, I’m coming for you, Annie, and your baby boy.”</b>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Latodra was fun to write for a minute, but inevitably, she's a J/A shipper as well. And yes, the Frankie who was waiting for her at the hospital is the one and only Frankie Dart. Which means Latodra will be back, and also Frankie, and Craig, and I know I promised Pierce, and you only got a glimpse of him or so, but in upcoming chapters, he'll become much more prominent of a character. Because you know, Annie's his favorite.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. She Says It's Time To Go</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jeff and Annie bond while feeding Baby JL.<br/>The new family (including Doreen) take family photos, and they are adorable!<br/>Jeff finally grows a pair.<br/>And the family, and everyone in their close circle are threatened.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>No angst warning, but WARNING, there is mention of animal abuse/murder, though not in graphic detail.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>She Says It’s Time To Go</b>
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</p><p>
  <em> Waaahhhhhhhh!! </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Waaaahhhh!!! </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wah-wah-waaaaahhhhh!!! </em>
</p><p>Annie gasped awake and blinked as she looked around the room. What was that? Where was she?</p><p><em> Waaahhhhh</em>!!</p><p>“JL!” She gasped, then swinging her legs off the bed, she picked up the baby monitor and winced as her nipples began to leak breast milk.</p><p>“I’m coming. I’m coming!” She called out, wondering, yet again, if she should just move JL and his crib into the room with her rather than having him next door in the nursery. She hurried over, not bothering to grab a robe or slide on her slippers. She stepped into the nursery and came to a halt as JL’s tears faded into sniffles, as he stared up into the exhausted expression on his daddy’s face.</p><p>Jeff held the tiny newborn, who’d only been released from the hospital two days before, and rocked him in his arms. Annie was touched by the gentle way that Jeff handled their son, and the way he still looked at his namesake with awe and wonder. It was something Annie had seen on the older man’s face more than once since their son was born, but seeing it now, as Jeff held JL, shirtless, the two of them staring at each other, JL’s tiny fists waving around as his tiny fingers moved, touching Jeff’s scruffy jaw as he kissed JL’s forehead, nose, lips, chin, and belly.</p><p>Annie’s heart clenched in her chest as she watched them. She knew that she should feel awkward for essentially spying on Jeff, but at the same time, she didn’t feel at all guilty. It was a beautiful sight, and it was rare to see such a moment of vulnerability in Jeff, the arrogant, overly self-confident, successful lawyer from the big city. There was only one other time when Annie could remember seeing a dash of vulnerability in Jeff, and that had been shortly after he’d recused himself from Kenneth’s criminal trial. Jeff had worried that his actions would be viewed negatively. Instead, he’d told her later that his actions, his honesty, had garnered more clients and cases for his firm and himself than they had ever expected.</p><p>“Enjoying the view?” Jeff asked, turning to face her, their son pressed against his naked chest.</p><p>Annie shrugged. “You two are cute together.”</p><p>Jeff chuckled. “I’m always cute, Annie. I just can’t help it.”</p><p>Annie rolled her eyes, then walked up to him holding out her arms for JL. The newborn gurgled and reached out towards her. Jeff relinquished the tiny baby to her, and Annie sat down in the rocking chair, before lowering the top of her nightgown so that JL could nurse. She focused on the top of her son’s head, hissing slightly as he latched firmly onto her nipple and began to suck.</p><p>“Does that hurt?” Jeff asked. It was a question he’d asked every time he watched her nurse their son. Annie didn’t mind, however, as she knew he asked out of concern for her.</p><p>“Not really,” she told him, as she had all of the other times. “It did at first, but now it’s just uncomfortable. Like when he used to kick me.”</p><p>Jeff nodded, then sat on the floor at her feet, watching as their son ate. They sat in silence, the only sound that of JL nursing from Annie’s breast. Remembering what the lactation specialist had explained to her in the hospital, Annie shifted JL from her left breast to her right one. She shivered as the cold air in the nursery blew across her exposed breast, and glanced up from staring down at JL’s head to find Jeff’s gaze trained on her bare nipple. The nipple which leaked a drop of breast milk. Jeff licked his lips and his blue eyes darkened. Annie looked away quickly, focusing back on her son, as she tried to discreetly lift her nightgown back into place.</p><p>“Here, let me help,” Jeff stated. She nodded, and intently kept her focus on her nursing newborn son. After her nightgown was put back into place, Annie looked up at Jeff. He swallowed thickly and cleared his throat.</p><p>“So, um… are you ready for the photoshoot tomorrow?” He asked.</p><p>Annie grinned widely and bounced slightly in the rocking chair. When JL protested her movements with a slight whine, she tempered herself. <em> Oops, guess I can’t do that with a baby attached to me</em>.</p><p>“Oh, Jeff! I’m <em> so </em> excited! We’re going to have to thank your mother with a dinner or something for giving this to us,” she stated with delight.</p><p>Jeff chuckled. “I think the fact that you invited her to take some of the photos with us is more than enough for her.” Annie narrowed her eyes at him, and he lifted his hands with another laugh. “Okay, okay! We’ll treat her out for some shopping and a dinner.”</p><p>Annie stroked JL’s cheek. “Doreen really is the greatest grandmother.”</p><p>“That she is,” Jeff agreed.</p><p>“Why thank you, I think I’m a pretty damn good grandmother as well,” Doreen said from the doorway of the nursery.</p><p>Annie and Jeff turned to look at Doreen in surprise, the older woman standing there holding a heated bottle of breastmilk. She shrugged as she held up the bottle.</p><p>“I heard my grandson crying and knew it was time for him to be fed, so I thought I’d help.”</p><p>Annie smiled. “Aww, thank you, Doreen. I’ve got him though.”</p><p>Doreen nodded. She gestured between Annie and Jeff. “I’m not interrupting anything am I?”</p><p>Annie shared a look with Jeff. She shook her head when she noticed the hesitation in Jeff’s eyes. “No. No. Of course not.”</p><p>Doreen nodded. She pointed at JL whose eyes were drifting closed. “Well, I think he’s ready to go back to bed.”</p><p>Annie lifted the tiny baby up to her shoulder and patted his back, satisfied when she heard the loud burp he emitted.</p><p>Jeff chuckled. “That’s my boy.”</p><p>“Ugh, Jeff!” Annie and Doreen said simultaneously. Jeff simply shrugged and pushed himself to his feet as Annie began rocking JL to sleep. He came over and placed a gentle kiss on JL’s head.</p><p>“Good night, <em> son</em>,” Jeff stated, his voice choking slightly on the last word. Annie looked over at Doreen and the two of them shared a look. Jeff glanced up at Annie just as she turned back to him. They shared a glance as well, but it was much different than the one Annie had shared with Doreen. This one was filled with meaning and purpose and some deep, as yet, undefined emotion, causing Annie to shiver a little.</p><p>Jeff cleared his throat and nodded at Annie once, before he walked over, gave Doreen a hug, then left the room. Doreen stood there watching silently as Annie walked over to the crib and placed JL down on the mattress inside it. She pulled up the dark blue coverlet, tucking him in tightly. She smiled softly as JL’s lips turned up into a satisfied expression. When she turned around, Doreen was still standing there. Annie quirked her left eyebrow, asking a question without saying a word.</p><p>“So, what’s going on between you and my son?” Doreen asked.</p><p>Annie blushed and she glanced away for a second. “W-what do you mean? We’re friends who are co-parenting our son.”</p><p>Doreen hummed and nodded. “If that’s how you want to identify it, but I was standing here for a while and I could practically feel the heat and tension radiating from the two of you when you looked at each other.”</p><p>Annie scoffed for a moment, then frowned as she considered Doreen’s words. “I-I d-don’t know what you thought you saw, Doreen, but Jeff and I?” She shook her head. “He’s um… he’s just getting over his breakup with Latodra, and…”</p><p>Doreen waved off Annie’s words. “I love my son, but he always makes foolish choices and decisions whenever he’s faced with the possibility of something real and long-lasting.” Her face took on a thoughtful expression. “It might have something to do with his father, of course. That time in his life really did a number on him. On both of us, really. But…” She shook her head. “I knew it wasn’t going to last. I think Jeffrey did as well. He chose Latodra because his relationship would be easy. Uncomplicated. Though they were sexually attracted to each other, there were no real feelings involved. But with you?” She chuckled softly, her laugh sounding a bit like Jeff’s.</p><p>“He avoided having a real relationship with you because he knew it would be real. It would be full of emotions and feelings and responsibility. And he’d really and truly have to grow up and do some true character development, as Abed would say,” Doreen stated, her face taking on a fond look as she talked about her younger half-Arabic, half-Polish neighbor. “He didn’t think he was ready for that, so he settled for Latodra. But now that he’s here,” she said, indicating a sleeping JL. “I have seen such growth in my son. I’m sure that if you gave him any indication that you would be interested in a real relationship with him, he would jump at the opportunity to make you his. No doubt forever.”</p><p>Annie’s eyes widened, and she stood frozen in shock and silence, as Doreen gave her a soft smile, a quietly gentle “good night,” and left the doorway.</p><p>Even long moments later, Annie still stood in the nursery, mulling over Doreen’s words. Was Doreen right? And if she was, was Annie ready to act on that truth?</p><p>Was she ready for what a real relationship with Jeffrey Winger would entail?</p><p><br/>
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</p><p>The Edison &amp; Winger Family Baby Photoshoot took place in Denver. Jeff, Annie, Doreen, and baby JL, all had numerous outfits for them to change into. Jeff even bought JL a baby suit, and a baby pair of scrubs so he and Annie could each have a framed photo of their son dressed in their chosen profession. Of course, Doreen Fitzgerald, being the awesome grandmother that she was, had spoken to Troy and Abed to ask them for their opinions, and had secretly packed JL a few superhero costumes: <em> Batman, Superman, </em> and <em> The Flash. </em> She had been practically vibrating with excitement ever since.</p><p>Jeff had noticed the way the two most important women in his life had been consistently bouncing with anxiousness and joy. He thought it was adorable.</p><p>He also thought Annie was gorgeous when she changed into a strapless red dress, JL dressed in a tiny black suit with a red onesie underneath it. Jeff wore a black suit, with a red tie, while his mother wore a black and red striped, form-fitting dress. Though his chest warmed at the sight of his mother wearing makeup and all dressed up (this was definitely how he wanted them all to dress when they went out for dinner), his groin tightened at the sight of Annie dressed up, with makeup on, wearing a pair of strappy red heels, the gold charm bracelet he’d given to her as a “Push Present”, and a gold locket that she’d never explained to him, but that he knew must be pretty important to her since she wore it all the time. And baby JL was wearing a tiny gold chain with a tiny, delicate Star of David pendant in the center. The necklace had been given to them by Ian and Britta when Doreen had thrown them a surprise baby shower the day they brought JL home.</p><p>Jeff had been a little surprised by the guest list for the shower, even though he’d helped his mother plan it. He’d taken Annie’s phone one afternoon while she was sleeping in the hospital, and had sent his mother the name and number of everyone in it that Annie had called or texted since she’d moved. He didn’t think they would all come, but Annie was extremely beloved. Between her friends from work: Doctor Patel, Doctor David Cho, and his wife Annie Kim-Cho, the last two of whom had wanted to make sure it was okay with Annie that they came—due to their connection to Kenneth, and the friends she’d made outside of work: Buzz Hickey and his sons, Rick, Devin, Dr Rich, their OBGYN, and his mother’s neighbors, Ian, Britta, their kids, Troy, Abed, Shirley, her husband, Detective Butcher, their kids, another neighbor Jeff tried to limit his time with because of how racist, misogynistic, and just… <em> gross </em> he was, Doreen’s house had been filled to the brim. At least he’d thought so until there was a knock at the door and he opened it to find a female police officer named Frankie Dart, Jeff vaguely remembered her from her testimony at Kenneth’s trial, and she almost looked like the woman who had picked up Latodra from the hospital. Standing next to her was a pale, bald man, who wore a very <em> fitted </em> pair of black slacks, and a flowy purple shirt, which looked a bit like a woman’s shirt. Frankie had introduced him as her brother, Craig, and Jeff could tell, by the way the other man eyed him hungrily, that he would be avoiding “Craig” all night.</p><p>His suspicion about Frankie’s identity was confirmed when Latodra stepped up behind them, a box in her arms, and a shy smile on her face. He hadn’t really gotten a chance to talk to her, having spent most of the night avoiding Craig’s not-so-subtle touches, and Britta’s horrible attempts to “therapize” him, and Ian’s repeated attempts to drag him outside for a “pint.” Jeff felt in extremely high demand, which he usually wouldn’t have had a problem with, he was, after all, <em> Jeff Winger </em>, but he’d wanted everyone to focus on his son.</p><p>And his Annie. Who had been looking extremely beautiful that evening. Latodra, however, he’d noticed chatting with Annie almost the entire night. He’d also been extremely aware of how… <em> intimate </em> Latodra and Frankie appeared to be.</p><p><em> I’ve never turned a woman gay before. I mean if you can’t have me, I guess no other man will do. Makes sense, </em> he’d thought to himself. Though he’d wisely kept that to himself.</p><p>Turning his attention back to the photo shoot, Jeff watched as Annie and JL took a couple of pictures, then his mother and JL, then his mother, Annie, and JL. Then Annie passed JL over to him, and Jeff was struck yet again by how tiny his son was, as he held the tiny boy in the crook of his left arm, smiling down in the wide open, innocent, curious, blue-eyed gaze of his son.</p><p>Jeff could hear the clicking and flashing of the photographer’s camera as she snapped picture after picture of him and JL, and though he glanced up every so often, when he did, he found that his gaze automatically locked onto Annie. No matter if he was looking at his son, or the mother of his son, Jeff felt his heart expanding, growing, pounding furiously in his chest. His palms grew slightly damp, and so to hide the anxiety he felt so prevalently, he fell back onto his tried and true measures of avoidance. He flexed for the benefit of the camera and the photographer. He smiled. He winked. He even flirted a bit. He could have probably kept it going, but the photographer, a rather attractive Hispanic woman, with a thick accent, whom his mother seemed to know quite well, lifted up her camera, called to her staff for their assistance in changing the background and the decorations, and told them they could change into their next “look.”</p><p>Jeff headed towards the changing area, to put JL in his tiny baby suit, and grab his tiny baby briefcase, when his mother stopped him with a hand on his arm. Turning towards her with a lifted eyebrow, Jeff waited for her to tell him how to dress his son properly.</p><p>“You’re ruining it,” she hissed.</p><p>Jeff frowned. “Ruining what?” He asked in confusion.</p><p>“Ruining your chances with Annie.” When Jeff didn’t say anything to that, Doreen rolled her eyes. “How did you grow up to be so thick? I know you were smart in school.” She sighed in frustration. “Last night Annie and I had a y’all about the two of you—“</p><p>“Mooom,” Jeff groaned.</p><p>“Don’t you Moom me, Jeffrey Tobias,” Doreen scolded him. “I’m trying to do what’s best, not only for the both of you, since it’s obvious how much the two of you care about each other, but also what’s best for my grandson. He needs both of his parents in his life. Together.”</p><p>“Sometimes two people being together just for the sake of a child is the worst thing that could possibly happen for that couple and that child. Look at you and Dad,” Jeff muttered bitterly.</p><p>Doreen gasped softly and Jeff winced at the pain he saw on her face.</p><p>“Mom, I’m so—“ Jeff stooped when Doreen held up a hand.</p><p>“No, no. You’re right. Your father and I should have never been together, and after you came around, I should have never stayed with him, but honey, we are the exception, not the rule. Most kids need both parents. Some need an effective parental village type. But I want you to think about your son, who is going to have to be monitored for a long time in case he has any sort of medical problems. Your son who is going to grow up with a smoking hot mom, who is much younger than his marginally attractive father—“</p><p>“MOM!”</p><p>Doreen shrugged. “What, dear? Have you seen that Chris Pratt? Or how about Chris Evans? Chris Hemsworth? I mean, good god almighty, Hollywood makes some beautiful Chrises. And let’s not even talk about Henry Cavill, or that Denzel Washington or Idris Elba.” Doreen moaned in appreciation and Jeff shuddered in disgust.</p><p>“I think I would like to curl up into a ball and die now,” he muttered.</p><p>Doreen slapped his bicep and glared at him. “All I’m saying is that your looks are going to fade way before hers will. And honey, you have depended on your looks for so long that besides your job, and that fancy car you have there’s nothing else interesting about you. But that girl?” Doreen pointed at Annie, where she stood holding a purple duffel bag, no doubt waiting on Doreen.</p><p>“She not only finds you, the real you, underneath the abs and the gym body, and the fancy job, and expensive car, beyond the wealth and that smirk that you’ve mastered? She finds the core of you, the real you enjoyable and fascinating, and she wants you. All of you. And more than just for one night.”</p><p>Doreen smiles at him then and Jeff found that he was having a very difficult time breathing. He looked over at Annie and caught her eyes. She blushed and tucked her dark hair behind her pale ears, and Jeff had to swallow back the growlish groan that wanted to spill forth from his lips.</p><p>“Don’t do like I did, honey, and wait too long to make your feelings known. Then you’ll wind up like me. Alone, divorced, living vicariously through your one son and the woman he knocked up, while the man you love lives 45 minutes away in some rinky dink town, with his wife, two sons, their spouses and grandchildren.” With that, Doreen leaned up and planted a kiss on Jeff’s cheek, before she lifted JL from his arms and walked with him back over to Annie.</p><p>Jeff frowned, but he let his eyes trail Annie as they walked off to the restroom, and considered his mother’s words. He knew that what she said regarding him and Annie was right but it was so much more than that...</p><p>Who was the man his mother was talking about? And why hadn’t he ever heard her talking about him before?</p><p>Deciding to let the matter drop for the moment, Jeff confirmed with Annie which pictures they were about to take, shocked when she told him that his mother wanted to take some pictures alone with JL.</p><p>It was now or never.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Jeff: so can we talk</b>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>Annie: Sure. What’s up?</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <b>Jeff: no in person</b>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>Annie: Oh. Now?</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <b>Jeff: plz if thats okay.</b>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>Annie: Yeah sure. There’s a couch behind the photography screen. Meet there in 5? I’ll be wearing my scrubs.</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <b>Jeff: make it 15 so i can change 2</b>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>Annie: Okay.</em> </b>
</p><p> </p><p>Having arranged a meetup, Jeff turned his attention towards another important matter... looking his best in a suit and tie.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*** *** *** ***</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Annie fiddled with her fingers as she nervously waited for Jeff to appear. She wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to talk about. She was sure that it had something to do with whatever he and Doreen had been discussing. And when Doreen had reached her, Annie had waited for the older woman to tell her what she and Jeff had been talking about, instead the proud grandmother had simply smiled at her, then told Annie she was going to take some special “surprise” pictures with just her and JL. Annie had been a little stunned but had said it was okay. She was more than a little preoccupied by the flirting Jeff had been doing with the photographer.</p><p>
  <em> I knew that Doreen wasn’t right about Jeff wanting me. If he did, why would he flirt with another woman right in front of me? </em>
</p><p>“Penny for your thoughts?” Jeff’s voice snatched her out of her inner musings and she looked up at him with a smile.</p><p>“I’m not sure they’re worth that much,” she said with a soft chuckle.</p><p>“Oh come on, Annie,” Jeff grunted as he sat next to her. “I’ve known you for a long time now, and I know that every thought in your head is worth at least a ten-spot, if not a hundred.”</p><p>Annie’s eyes widened. “What? Really? Oh… shut up,” she said with a pleased smile as she reached over and smacked her hand gently against his pec. He was wearing a dark blue suit, that matched JL’s that he would wear later, a white shirt, a blue tie (JL’s was a bow tie), and a pair of black Italian loafers. Annie even noticed the diamond cufflinks at Jeff’s wrist.</p><p>She whistled slightly, then let out a soft laugh when they heard JL gurgling in response.</p><p>“That’s my boy. Knows to show his gratitude whenever a woman shows her appreciation,” Jeff nodded.</p><p>Annie snorted out a laugh. She and Jeff sat in silence for a long moment, then Annie sighed and made a move to rise. Her scrubs were probably the most comfortable thing in her closet to wear as she was still working off her baby weight, and while she was still nursing, but she didn’t exactly feel comfortable sitting next to Jeff dressed in his $6,000 suit.</p><p>“Well, if that’s all you wanted to talk about…” she hedged, but stopped when Jeff put his hand on her arm.</p><p>She turned to look at him, her eyes wide, and what she saw in his gaze made her struggle to breathe, her heart thundering like horse’s hooves in her chest.</p><p>“Jeff--”</p><p>The crush of her body against his, and the possessive, passionate, furious way he took her lips with his own, abandoned every thought in her head. Her arms went up around his neck, and a part of Annie was surprised that Jeff didn’t protest the minute she sank her fingers into his hair. She gasped as he lifted her up onto his lap, her legs bracketing his hips as she straddled him. They kissed and kissed. Moaning into one another’s mouths. Their hands frantic and grasping at their clothes. Annie swayed her hips over Jeff’s groin, back and forth, thankful to Troy for teaching her about getting in touch with the “woman” inside of her, and not letting her be drowned by the “mother” she had become.</p><p>They would have probably continued making out, or even going farther and having sex right there on the couch, but the sound of a camera shutter rapidly taking photos, had them jerking their mouths apart.</p><p>Annie gasped and looked around, her face flushing red and hot as she found Doreen, holding JL, and the photographer, standing at the edge of the photography screen, taking photos of Annie and Jeff making out.</p><p>“Mom!” Jeff yelled.</p><p>Doreen shrugged unapologetically. “You’ll both thank me later when you’re too old to remember what it felt like to be this horny. Won’t they, JL? Yes they will. Yes they will,” she cooed at her grandson. She and the photographer chuckled and walked away, to wait for Jeff and Annie.</p><p>Annie went to push off of Jeff’s lap, refusing to look at him, but she was stopped by the clenching of his hands on her hips. She turned back towards him, and softened at the gentle smile on his face.</p><p>“I’m not ashamed to be caught making out with you. You’re hot and I want you.” He shook his head. “I want to <em> be </em> with you, and not just sexually, but more…” He blushed and glanced away for a second. Annie swooned internally at the cutely vulnerable expression on his face.</p><p>“Jeff?”</p><p>He looked back at ther. “Annie? Can I… will you go on a date with me?”</p><p>Annie sighed happily and nodded. “I would love to.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*** *** *** ***</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The rest of the pictures that were taken by the Edison-Winger family were gorgeous, and filled with love, laughter, and secret glances passed between Jeff and Annie, all caught with the photographer’s talented eye through a camera lens. There were the photos of Jeff with JL, both of them dressed as businessmen, and both Annie and Doreen cooed over how handsome they both were.</p><p>When Annie and JL took their photos, both dressed in scrubs, a tiny clipboard gripped tightly in JL’s tiny fingers (“they look like tiny Good &amp; Plentys” Jeff said with awe), Doreen remarked how “smart” they both appeared. While Jeff said he’d never felt so medically safe. Annie had blushed at both of their compliments, but it was Jeff’s assessing gaze, as he traced her body with his eyes which had caused her nipples to harden. She was glad that she had on a nursing bra, otherwise her photos in her scrubs would have been slightly obscene.</p><p>The final photos, casual, with Annie wearing a dark purple, flowered sundress, with a tight, hot pink cardigan sweater, Jeff wearing a dark purple, polo shirt, and an expensive pair of jeans, Doreen wearing a dark purple, velour sweatpants ensemble (“really, Mom? A velour sweatsuit?” “Don’t you dare insult my clothes, Jeffrey. You said casual and comfortable. Don’t be mad at me that your expensive pants don’t allow for you to breathe or sit.”), and JL in a pair of baby jeans, with a dark purple onesie, were filled with laughter, hugs, kisses between grandma and grandson, mom with son (Annie and JL, and Doreen and Jeff), and father with son.</p><p>And one very special photo, that would be framed three times over, and would sit on a mantle, a work desk, and hanging on a wall within the year. It was of Jeff holding JL, Annie’s hand resting on JL’s belly. JL was looking up at his parents, who were leaning towards each other slightly, their eyes full of want, of loving emotion, of excited expectation.</p><p>It was <em> the </em> picture that made the whole shoot worth it.</p><p>Or at least that’s what Doreen said repeatedly, as they had dinner together that night, watched <em> Mulan </em> on Disney+, stood around the kitchen sink, singing “Crash Into Me” by Dave Matthews Band (or “Dave” as Jeff referred to him) as they washed JL in his baby bath, and when they all trooped upstairs to the nursery, and Jeff rocked his son, and fed him from a bottle. JL fell asleep quite quickly, having had a full day with his favorite people, and Annie went to stand next to Jeff as he put their son into his crib. They both turned when Doreen left the nursery with a quiet “Good night,” and once the coast was clear, Annie tilted her head up, and accepted the gentle, sweet kiss Jeff placed on her lips.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*** *** *** ***</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>When Jeff stepped out onto the front porch of his mother’s house late that night, he looked around in confusion. He didn’t consider himself a paranoid person, but he knew that he’d heard <em> something </em> while he was locking up the place for the night. Not seeing anyone outside, or any unknown cars, he turned to go back inside.</p><p>He stopped however when he saw the unmarked box sitting on top of the white wicker patio table. He took out his phone and took numerous photos. He sent them to Mark and Officer Dart, whom he’d gotten to know pretty well since the baby shower. He waited to hear what the response was, and even leaned down a bit to see if he could hear any ticking coming from inside. He couldn’t hear anything but the <em> smell</em>…</p><p>Jeff glanced up when the door to Frankie’s side door opened and she stepped out. Jeff was still a little freaked out and surprised that Frankie and her brother lived next door to his mother. And that Latodra was basically living with them, but that didn’t matter in that moment. Whatever was in the box did.</p><p>Frankie stepped up onto the porch and gracefully pulled out a pair of latex gloves from her back pocket, just as Mark messaged him back.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b> <em>Cash: Tango, don’t touch it. Call police. Kenny put out a hit on your girl.</em> </b>
</p><p> </p><p>Jeff’s eyes widened and he returned his gaze back to Frankie just as she hissed, and pulled her gloves off, before tugging out her own phone.</p><p>Jeff watched her, his body tense as she placed a call, wondering what she’d found in the box that had her reacting in such a way.</p><p>“This is Officer Dart, Badge Number 014658, calling to report codes 10-91, 602, and 597 at address 538 Wilshire Drive, Lakewood. Scene secured.”</p><p>Jeff lowered his eyebrows and stared at her in confusion.</p><p>“What did you just tell them?” He asked.</p><p>Frankie sighed and looked at him with a fierce expression, one mixed with concern. “Someone sent you the mutilated corpses of what appears to be a puppy, and a number of Barbie and Ken dolls, various colors and hair types, all with the name of someone at the baby shower on each one of them. There is a note inside addressed to Miss Edison, and yourself, warning that "he" knows who your new "family" is and because of your betrayal, now they are all in danger. Signed, <em> A Friend of Kenny’s </em>.”</p><p>Jeff’s breath caught in his lungs. “Is Kenny out?”</p><p>Frankie shook her head. “No. The state would have contacted the both of you if he were. But it does appear that he’s made some friends in jail. Which makes protecting you a priority.”</p><p>“What does that mean?”</p><p>“Nothing yet, but if the state deems your lives too much at risk, then they may just put you and everyone around you, who knows what’s going on, in WITSEC.”</p><p>Jeff looked back at his mother’s darkened home, and around the neighborhood. It was a lot of people, but maybe they wouldn’t all have to be relocated. Maybe he and Frankie were worrying for nothing.</p><p>But as Jeff looked over at the now opened box, he shuddered.</p><p>Or maybe they were simply worrying <em> too late </em>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>See? Schmoopiness, some sexiness. There's more schmoopiness coming, some creepiness from Kenny (of course because he's a "jag"), and "the study group" all get together for a Halloween party at Doreen's house.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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